The Flame Traditional Greek Grill in DeKalb wants to serve up ‘culture of hospitality,’ says owner

DeKALB – Tucked along Lincoln Highway in downtown DeKalb is The Flame Traditional Greek Grill.

The restaurant, 209 E. Lincoln Highway, first opened its doors to customers Jan. 15 under the ownership of Foti Pappas, a DeKalb-based developer who’s family has been heavily involved in business growth downtown. The space used to house Jamrah Middle Eastern Cuisine’s DeKalb location.

In opening the new restaurant, Pappas said he’s been hyper-focused on all the details involved in reimagining the Greek experience, both operationally within his restaurant and experientially for his patrons.

“Both of my parents were born in Nafpaktos, Greece,” Pappas said. “Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to visit and experience the culture, food and philoxenia. The Greek culture of hospitality is warm, lively and inviting to all. I’m excited to bring this concept and cuisine to this town.”

Dining at The Flame Traditional Greek Grill is intended to be an immersive experience for all patrons.

“The Greek culture of hospitality is warm, lively and inviting to all. I’m excited to bring this concept and cuisine to this town.”

—  Foti Pappas

The restaurant serves up traditional Greek favorites like gyro platter, salmon mykonos, souvlaki platter, spanakopita, Greek salmon, spartan chicken and more.

Pappas said business has been faring well at The Flame Traditional Greek Grill since opening.

“We’ve been blessed to have a successful opening week, and our wonderful staff deserves all the credit for that,” Pappas said. “We look forward to serving the community seven days a week for lunch and dinners, both dine-in and carry-out.”

The Flame Traditional Greek Grill keeps more than 25 different varieties of wine in supply, some of which are imported from Greece. Greek wine selections include everything from gavala santorini and cavino ionos white to poles cabernet-merlot and hatzimichalis chardonnay.

In addition, the restaurant carries a selection of Greek beers along with draft and bottled beers.

“All sourced directly from Greece, we provide an endless amount of authentic beer, wine and ingredients,” Pappas said. “We are sure there is something for everyone to enjoy.”

DeKalb Chamber of Commerce executive director Matt Duffy lauded Pappas for investing in DeKalb.

“It’s great to have a new restaurant in downtown DeKalb, and having a Greek restaurant is not something that we have in the area currently,” Duffy said. “So, [it’s] another option for people who want to go out to eat, to try some different types of food and obviously, another reason to go downtown when there’s events like the shows at the Egyptian [Theatre], or if there’s live music at a number of venues in [the] downtown area. Having another restaurant down there is a great asset to the community.”

The Flame Traditional Greek Grill is open for dine-in and carry-out business seven days every week. Its hours of operation are from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For information, visit theflamedekalb.com