Christakis Restaurant Name Returns With a New Site in Oxton
A restaurant name many Liverpool diners remember is heading to the Wirral. Christakis is due to open in Oxton Village in January 2027, the first time the brand has had a site there.
A second site over the water
The new restaurant will take over the former Manny's Market premises on Rose Mount. It will spread across two floors and seat around 80 people. The brand's white and blue colours will carry over.
The family already runs one Christakis, in Bebington. Today there is no Christakis left in Liverpool.
From Caesar's Palace to his own restaurants
Christakis Georgiou, 57, comes from Cyprus and lives in Woolton Village. He moved to Merseyside in 1998. His wife Francesca is from Liverpool and half Cypriot on her father's side. They met when she moved to Cyprus at 17.
He became a manager at Caesar's Palace on Renshaw Street. The restaurant was a go-to choice in the 1990s, known as a special occasion place with more than 300 covers and a menu of pasta, pizza and burgers. It closed in 2008. Georgiou was instrumental in establishing it among the city's top restaurants of the day.
He later worked in other Liverpool restaurants before opening the first Christakis on York Street in the city centre. The site had been Rinos, a popular restaurant owned by his father-in-law. At one stage the family also had a Christakis on Smithdown Road. Their eateries go back to 1969.
Why he looked beyond Liverpool
After the Liverpool restaurant closed, Georgiou was ready to move back to Cyprus with his wife and youngest son. His mother, Androulla, died in March, and he said that changed a lot for him. Cyprus no longer felt the same. He told his wife he wanted to stay near his home, his sons and his grandchildren, and to start again.
He did not want to open another restaurant in Liverpool, saying the competition is so high. Away from areas such as Bold Street or Castle Street, he said, a restaurant relies heavily on its name. The Bebington premises turned up by chance, through friends he knew. Many customers had travelled from the Wirral over the years, and he noted that going into Liverpool by train or taxi "can cost a fortune".
The family did not advertise when Bebington opened, yet it has been busy. Georgiou described the demand as fantastic and said it was lovely to welcome back people he has known for many years.
What Oxton gets
The Oxton premises were another chance find, but the family thought them worth a go. Georgiou called Oxton a beautiful village with a lovely community. He said the area deserves a restaurant like his, one that gives people a reason to stay local and enjoy their evenings.
It is a family business, he added, and his relatives are working alongside him. He said neighbours and the wider community have been supportive, and that people in Oxton are excited.
Source: Liverpool Echo