The owners of a Greek restaurant have said what it takes to succeed in Reading as the husband and wife team celebrate its sixth anniversary.
Luftar Rusta and his wife Edra Shtembari opened Tasty Greek Souvlaki in Market Place in May 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic.
At the time, it had to operate only as a takeaway, until people were allowed to eat in restaurants in July.
Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, despite challenges such as escalating bills and the cost-of-living crisis.
The menu is meat heavy, with customers often gorging on pork and chicken gyros, village sausage, Philadelphia kebab and more.
It also serves falafel, halloumi, Greek salad, desserts and a mix of alcoholic and soft drinks.
Mr Rusta has spoken about what it takes to run a successful independent restaurant in the town centre.
He said: “If you work hard, like I’m working with my wife, we’ve got two little kids.
“Like, I’m doing like 80-90 hours of work, crazy weeks. I guess my shift was like from nine o’clock in the morning and I finish at 12 o’clock at night. Then it’s a 16-hour shift, both for me and my wife.
“You know, if you work hard, you can achieve something because you’re looking after people, I’ve been an executive chef for 26 years.
“So because I’m here, I’ve got my regular customers, it’s very nice, everyone’s happy, because I’m serving fresh food here.
“If you give everything to every dish that is going out and look after the place and make sure everyone and the guests are happy.”
The restaurant served Greek delicacies, kontosouvli and kokoretsi during Orthodox Easter on Sunday, April 12, which is held a week after Western Easter.
Kontosouvli is large chunks of marinated meat cooked over a spit roast, and kokoretsi is lamb or goat intestines wrapped with other seasoned organs.
Tasty Greek Souvlaki has an average of 4.7/5 stars from 1,239 Google reviews.
A summary states: “Diners like this restaurant’s authentic Greek food, especially the flavourful souvlaki and gyros, which come in generous portions.
“They also highlighted the great value for money and the cosy and welcoming atmosphere.
“Guests mention the staff are friendly, attentive, and provide excellent service.”
Mr Rusta and Mrs Shtembari’s business is expanding as they will be opening the new Italian restaurant Aperino located in the nearby Bristol & West Arcade.
They recently achieved consent to sell alcohol from their new site from Reading Borough Council.
They are clear that both will have clearly separate menus.
Mrs Shtembari said: “We’re not going to mix. We want it to be a different experience, so guests can enjoy excellent food both here and there.”
Aperino is expected to open later this year.
