A former nurse who decided to open her own Greek restaurant whilst on maternity leave is set to open her second venue in less than a year.
Ramona Somatseskou has enjoyed great success with La Greco, in Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent, since setting up in October last year.
Now she is putting the finishing touches to bigger premises in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, before opening on Trinity Street at the end of August.
The new La Greco is creating six jobs and will serve traditionally-made Greek food such as moussaka, kleftiko, gyros and cakes.
It will open from 7am through to the evening when it will offer Greek barbeque food. A small corner of the restaurant will sell products such as olive oil to take away and food such as salads to grab-and-go.
And Ramona also has aspirations for a third venue with talks underway for a restaurant in Tunstall, which would also host live Greek music.
The mum-of-four said: “I am very happy with my restaurant in Cobridge and people say the food is very good.
“I have worked very hard to find the best suppliers. Everything is from Greece and if I don’t like it, then I don’t give it to my customers.
“Now we are opening up somewhere bigger and it is very exciting for us. We will be able to bring in more products from Greece and offer more to the people who love our food.”
Ramona, from Kozani in northern Greece, moved to England in 2016 to secure a better future for her sons. She was working as a nurse before deciding to change her career path whilst on maternity leave with her youngest during the Covid pandemic.
The Cobridge branch of La Greco, on Waterloo Road, pictured above, won four awards within four weeks in June – a Global Recognition award, two Pride of Staffordshire awards and one from Restaurant Guru.
Ramona’s husband Paul also helps run the business and son Kyriakos Kemanetzidis, aged 19, works for them after studying at college during the day.
“My son’s dream is to see the business as a chain restaurant,” Ramona added.
