THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 8, 1996 TAG: 9601070011
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
When Nicholas Seretis walks into the room, you see a young man with dark eyes and jet black hair, a sharp profile and a presence of self-assurance.
The son of Louis Seretis, who established the well-known Orapax restaurant in Norfolk, Nicholas Seretis helped the family business step into the larger and unknown restaurant market of Virginia Beach.
``We always had customers ask us when were we going to open a restaurant in Virginia Beach,'' Nicholas Seretis said. ``It has always been on my mind to do something like that - a challenge - to see if I could do it.''
Thus far, it looks like this grandson of Greek ship owners is succeeding.
Seretis, 34, is at the restaurant daily in the Hilltop East section of Virginia Beach. One day he greets customers at the door in a coat and tie. The next day an apron and sweaty brow indicate he has been preparing Lamb Entradaone, a traditional Greek meal of lamb with tomato sauce lightly spiced with herbs.
It's demanding work. How does he manage? Seretis says it's part of the family tradition.
Louis Seretis left Greece decades ago and traveled the world in the merchant marine. His brothers still operate ships in Greece that call on Hampton Roads. But early on he became a fisherman with his own trawler in Norfolk, then opened a country and western bar with his wife Harriet, and later opened the Orapax on a quiet street in West Ghent.
Seretis was just out of Maury High School in the late '70s when he joined his brother's band, played saxophone and sang at the country and western bar.
For six years he performed throughout Hampton Roads, learning the ropes of how to deal with people. But after years of touring with the band, Seretis realized, ``I just got tired of all the traveling.''
It was time to have a talk - a long talk - with his father about joining the family business.
``I didn't realize it at the time, but my father explained to me that it was very necessary to start at the bottom, in the kitchen, to learn how a restaurant operates,'' he said.
For 10 years Seretis has been on the receiving end of Greek cargo ships that bring imported olives and olive oil, oregano, and feta cheese. He learned not only how to prepare the Greek dishes, but how to relate to people, how to manage, how to be a true restaurateur.
``I had the best teacher in the world, my father,'' he said.
Seretis realized that he was much younger than some of his employees. It was another learning experience.
``You have to gain the respect of the people you manage,'' he said. ``You always work hard. If something needed to be done, I not only told them what to do, but how it's done. Many times I have come into the restaurant dressed for the evening and ended up in the kitchen cooking or washing dishes. So employees see that I'm not just the executive with the nice cologne, they know that at a drop of a bucket I can do this job.''
When an Orapax restaurant was opened in Virginia Beach, Seretis found out first hand the difference of running a business in the resort city. His dealings with the codes and regulations were a rude awakening.
``For every faucet or running water you have, there is a tax on that. And in a restaurant you have tons of them - the bar, kitchen, bathrooms, hand and mop sinks. The tax runs into the hundreds of dollars,'' he said.
Pleasing customers is a constant challenge, but Seretis loves his job. He traces his work ethic to a long Greek tradition of family values.
``The women ran the household and the men had jobs outside the home. There was respect for your mother and father. And we would all eat dinner at the same time,'' he said.
His wife, Khadiya, cares for the home and their two children, Nicole age 4 and Angela 1 1/2, and ``takes care of the problems.''
``The stable house gives you the energy to work. The hours that I work and the pressures that I have could never be done unless when I go home everything is right,'' Seretis said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Nick Seretis took over the popular Orapax restaurant from his
father.
by CNB