George and Milany Papachryssanthou, the couple behind beloved local establishments like Chatty Cathy, Ithaca Wine and Spirits and Souvlaki House, have taken their reputation to new heights with the recent relocation of their popular Neapolitan pizza spot, Thompson and Bleeker.
George grew up in Ithaca, where his parents owned and ran the Souvlaki House, located on Eddy Street. Souvlaki House has been a steady fixture in the Ithaca culinary scene, remaining open for more than 50 years as other restaurants come and go.
Though George never intended to pursue a career in the restaurant industry after graduating from the University of Vermont, he moved to New York City to work for a large hospitality group for six years. During his time in New York City, he met his wife Milany while working at the same restaurant. The couple moved to Ithaca in 2015, seeing it as a better place to raise a family.
“We saw a need for several things in Ithaca, things that were more health-driven [and] tastier … and George has a background in hospitality. His parents owned The Souvlaki house, so at a very young age, he was working in the kitchen,” Milany said.
The couple first decided to open up Ithaca Wine and Spirits, as they saw a need for an upscale liquor store with organic wines.
“From there, we opened up Chatty Cathy, which we saw a need for a gourmet coffee shop with more health-driven food options,” Milany said.
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Then came Thompson and Bleeker, which was intended to be a restaurant with healthier pizza and pasta options.
“We create concepts that we would ourselves frequent,” George said. “We are trying to take the thought process out of eating healthy.”
George and Milany have welcomed two children into their family in recent years, a five-month-old and a three-year-old, so balancing their five businesses can be difficult to manage at times. However, they credit much of their success to their staff.
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“We’re surrounded by really talented, kind, smart people who are really good hospitality operators, and without them, we couldn’t do what we do,” George said.
One of the biggest challenges the couple has faced during their careers was COVID-19, as it hit within the second year of Thompson and Bleeker’s opening. According to CNBC, about 60 percent of restaurants fail in their first year of operation, and 80 percent fail within five years of opening.
“We were doing like 200 pizzas a night [takeout orders], every night, in four hours. It was just madness,” George said. “Thankfully, it was that, as opposed to us sitting in there thinking about how we were going to pay rent or our mortgage or other expenses.”
Now situated in the Barr Building on East Seneca Street in the Ithaca Commons, Thompson and Bleeker has doubled its seating capacity, transforming from a cozy 38-seat restaurant to a spacious venue accommodating 72 guests.
“The building itself is beautiful,” George said. “We needed a larger area to accommodate our guests and improve our kitchen efficiency, which allows us to create a more comfortable dining experience.”
Since opening their original location in 2018, Thompson and Bleeker quickly became a favorite among locals, often facing wait times of up to three hours. After purchasing the Barr Building a year and a half ago, the couple strategically planned for this expansion, reopening on July 19 with exciting new features, including a full liquor bar.
Thompson and Bleeker will be the Papachryssanthou couple’s last full-service restaurant. Their goal in the next few years is to start a chain called Fresh Marche, a Parisian-style salad bar and Italian-inspired sub sandwiches concept. Fresh Marche’s first spot is set to open in the next couple of months where Thompson and Bleeker was previously located on 220 East State Street.
Fresh Marche will open its second location in Spring 2025 on College Avenue in the Catherine Commons.
“We’re younger than a lot of the people that are in similar businesses that we are, so I think we have sort of a refreshed idea on what younger people enjoy,” George said. “It all comes back to when you open a business, you obviously feel there’s a void for it.”