The Aivalis family recently moved to Newmarket and said they struggled to find places to eat that reminded them of their previous homeland.
The Greek family has run restaurants for multiple generations, making it a family business. But with nothing to their taste in Newmarket, Peter Aivalis said they decided to start their own new restaurant in town.
“It’s the only thing I know how to do,” Aivalis said about restaurant operations. “I do exactly what I see back home (in Greece). It wasn’t really hard.”
The Hungry Donkey opened in July at Upper Canada Mall inside its food market area. Offering food including wraps, salads and coffee, the restaurant seeks to provide authentic Greek cuisine, shipping ingredients in directly from Greece.
Aivalis immigrated from Greece at 16 years old, starting a restaurant with his brother in downtown Toronto.
Fifty years later, Aivalis is still cooking, having owned different restaurants in Toronto and other GTA locations. But the family decided to move to Newmarket a couple of years ago for a change of pace of the busier city life.
He said he wanted to find a spot in the food court because of the traffic and to do something different than an individualized store.
Running a restaurant with his family helps keep them together, he said.
“That’s how I brought my family up,” he said. “It gives me time with my kids … It keeps me in touch.”
The name of the new restaurant comes from a Greek expression, where they might say they ate like a donkey. But Aivalis said donkeys are also an important animal in Greece, used to transport goods from the farm to the house.
The family hopes to eventually franchise the Hungry Donkey.
Aivalis said he hopes to convince customers that their food is worth sharing with others.
“Success is good food at the lowest price,” he said. “Nothing else works. I think the best advertisers come from your customers.”
“We want to show people our culture and what it’s really supposed to be like,” Aivalis said. “We feel that if we can show it, then there will be more of an appreciation.”
