Neraki Greek Mediterranean Grill was just named “Best Greek Restaurant on Long Island” as part of the 2018 “Best of Long Island” competition. This marked the restaurant’s fourth win in this category in five years. “That was a great honor because it was voted by our customers, who went out and voted for us. We have won it now four out of the past five years, and the competition was very stiff. It was really wonderful. We are very proud of that honor and we thank our customers for that,” he said.
Regarding the status of the Greek-American community, Moschos said, “The Greek-American community in the United States is seeing that things are getting a little better in Greece. The overall attitude and outlook is getting better. We’re seeing improved tourism. Tourism has been going up each year, and as a result, it’s helping to stimulate the economy in Greece, so more and more people are going to go to beautiful Greece to see what it’s all about.”
New menu items at Neraki
The owner shared that they added a few new items to their menu, including Haloumi-style french fries with Greek honey, Grek nachos, and scallops wrapped in honey bacon, and salmon ceviche and tune ceviche. “We are constantly trying to change our menu to reflect what is available at the market,” he said. “We take pride in providing the freshest available product to me at the markets. I will never ever comprise quality just to bring something in the restaurant. I am one of the very few restaurant owners that personally goes to the Hunts Point markets that handpicks our meats, our vegetables and our fish.”
Digital transformation of food industry
On the impact of technology on the restaurant business, he said, “Technology is evolving and one of the most important things is social media. Technology has played an important role in getting the word out about restaurants, with applications such as Yelp and GrubHub and multiple other apps that people use to review restaurants.”
As a restaurant owner, Moschos is involved in Twitter, Yelp, Google, Urbanspoon and Facebook. “Most recently, there is a Tri-State Restaurant Group on Facebook, which has over 50,000 members. It is one of the largest Facebook restaurant groups around,” he said.
A very valid point that Mr. Moschos raised is that when it comes to electronic ordering, everything is “faceless,” and rightfully so. “When somebody meets somebody face to face, they get a better touch and feel for that particular restaurant. It’s a more personal touch. That’s where we excel, from our wait staff to myself and my wife, Olga, we want to touch every table and speak to every customer and make sure that they are happy, and make sure they know how we do things and why we do things.”
To learn more about Neraki Greek Mediterranean Grill, check out its official website and Facebook page.
