Opa by Giorgios Brings the Greek Isles to Downtown Wilmington

Set to open to the public on Nov. 2, Opa by Giorgios, a coastal-inspired Greek concept on the northern downtown waterfront, is the latest culinary endeavor from Giorgios Hospitality Group.

Restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias has opened four other restaurants in the Wilmington area in recent years – Kipos Hellenic Cuisine, Fortuna Cucina Italiana, Tomiko-San and G Prime.

“Celebrate the madness of being alive” is the slogan for Opa by Giorgios. The new restaurant aims to transport customers to the Greek isles.

“We just want people to have fun and experience what it’s like to be in Greece,” said Hannah Chiaradio, events and operations director for Giorgios Hospitality Group. “And it’s perfect since we’re right on the water and it just gives that coastal Greek vibe.”

With the main dining area, outside patio, upstairs mezzanine and upstairs balcony, the restaurant can seat about 400 guests. Chiaradio said that while Kipos also lets guests dance after dinner, at Opa it’s all happening in the same place. There’s even a DJ booth built into the main dining area.

“At Kipos, everyone goes outside and leaves their tables,” Chiaradio said. “But traditionally in Mykonos and Santorini and those late-night party islands, people will sit for dinner really late and get up and dance. We didn’t want to have a specific separate dance floor; we wanted this to be a party where you’re simultaneously having dinner and dancing. Just how they do it in Greece.”

As for the menu, Opa will serve dishes inspired by the Greek coast, focusing on seafood and produce-forward dishes while still offering poultry and red meat options.

“Opa was really inspired by fishermen, what they can catch and bring back home after being out on the water all day,” Chiaradio said. “So, our sister restaurant (Kipos) is more mainland Greek, whereas we are coastal Greek islands.”

The team plans to work with local farmers and vendors and bring in certain items from Greece, such as sea salt, olive oil, herbs and branzino.

Executive Chef Renato Mekolli has 25 years of culinary experience and was on TV shows MasterChef Albania and Hell’s Kitchen Albania. Menu items include phyllo-wrapped feta; gigantes and beef cheek; beef rib baklava; whole fish for two; and astakomakaronada, which is fresh lobster, house-made linguine, roasted tomato, Metaxa bisque and fresh basil.

The beverage program, from bar manager Gillianne Norris, complements the food offerings. When developing Opa’s bar menu, Norris was first tasked with creating riffs on eight classic cocktails.

“My biggest thing was to make sure that it was very appreciative of Greek culture and very approachable for anybody who wants to enjoy a drink,” Gillianne Norris said. “I want guests to feel like they’re on vacation, like they can turn their brains off and enjoy an experience that is curated intentionally.”

Some of those riffs include the Opa Martini (think olive-oil-washed vodka), a Baklava Mai Tai and a spin on a whiskey sour named Persephone. Norris also set out to incorporate two prominent Greek spirits, ouzo and mastiha, into the beverage program.

“I honestly looked up a lot of different bars in Greece and kind of looked through their menus to see what their builds are, how they balance things,” Norris said. “One thing that stood out as I was doing that and learning more about Greek culture is the hospitality and the labor of love that comes with being a good host.”

Norris said she enjoys creating often time-consuming homemade shrubs and orgeats. “Those are labors of love to craft,” she said.

Norris said she also works to ensure all bar ingredients, besides the spirits themselves, are nonalcoholic and easy to use for mocktail options.

The team has focused not only on menu development these past few months while creating Opa, but also on staff development. Service director Greer Gattone is, according to Chiaradio, “the heart of how we want people to feel and in charge of designing and modeling that for our entire team. She sets the standard of culture for how people are getting taken care of.”

Taking care of people comes naturally to Gattone, who jokes that when people stop by her house, even briefly, she starts slowly setting out food for them. She said she is excited for the opportunity to bring a welcoming sense of relaxation, paired with great food and drink, to downtown Wilmington.

“I think it’s going to bring an aspect of gathering,” Greer Gattone said. “It’s going to immerse you in an actual Greek experience. I don’t think it’ll even feel like Wilmington in here; it’s so transformative. It’s not just eating Greek food, but an experience that feels like you’re actually in Greece.”

Some staff members recently sampled menu items together, most trying the dishes for the first time. One of them was muralist Arianne Hemlein, who was spotted sighing with delight at her first bite.

“I can’t remember the last time I ate something where I had to close my eyes and savor it,” Arianne Hemlein said.

Hemlein has been working for months on the hand-painted murals of Greek gods that take over the entire space, starting at the entrance.

“With the mural process with Giorgios, it’s definitely a collaboration,” Hemlein said. “What you see in his restaurants – it comes from him first. He sent ideas to me months and months before we were in here, and so it marinates for a while, and then we go back and forth until we’re both satisfied and it’s approved by him.”

Chiaradio said that’s how Bakatsias is across the board with the visual details of the restaurant.

“Giorgios is the mastermind behind his projects aesthetically all the time,” Chiaradio said. “He obviously works with vendors who help bring his vision to life, but this man knows what he wants.”

“The inspiration … comes from deep in my heart,” Giorgios Bakatsias said in a Greater Wilmington Business Journal article earlier this year. “Spending time in the Greek Islands and spending time in the ports and marinas of Greece. It’s a very romantic sight for me, always.”

Bakatsias grew up in Greece before immigrating to the U.S. with his family at age 12. He said his travels and the restaurant spaces themselves often serve as influences for his concepts.

“I’ve done hundreds of concepts for myself and others,” he said. “When I look at a space, the space tells me what it wants to be.”

Located at 14 Harnett St., Opa will serve dinner to start, followed by lunch and brunch service in the coming weeks.