After almost 40 years, no retirement plans for restaurant owners
BY KIMEKO MCCOY
BY KIMEKO MCCOY
Getting out of bed at 6 a.m. is considered sleeping in for Mike Theodosion.
By 9 a.m., he and his wife, Estelle Theodosion, are still cheery as they enjoy breakfast at their restaurant, Theo's.
She's made a handful of jokes that morning while sipping from a Styrofoam cup with her name etched in it with pen.
Her husband can't help but laugh with each bite of his breakfast sandwich.
They're a good team and have been since they started working together in the mid-1980s, shortly after they opened the first Theo's Restaurant on San Marco Avenue.
"I think we play off of each other sometimes," Mike said.
Things at the restaurant, like Grandmother "Yia Yia" Stamatia's bread, are made from scratch every day, so Mike comes in around 4 a.m. to get things started.
"It gets me off early enough to go fishing," he said.
The bread is one of the restaurant's biggest sellers. Mike remembers spending time in the kitchen with his grandmother, watching and learning the art of baking.
"When we'd visit and spend the weekend (with her) as kids, we'd bake with her and so Yia Yia was a big influence on my baking," Mike said.
He describes her as the kind of grandmother that was sweet and kind, yet "you didn't want to get on her bad side."
When the Theodosions first went into the restaurant business, they owned an Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips franchise on San Marco Avenue.
"Ask an old person," Estelle said. "They'll remember it."
The seafood fast-food restaurant chain reached its peak of popularity in the late 1970s.
When it started to fail, Mike and Estelle created the first Theo's Restaurant.
Mike took what he learned from his grandmother and incorporated it into the restaurant - especially the bread she would knead by hand.
Estelle said when her husband made bread, it was always delicious.
She recalled an instance when the bread mixer broke at the restaurant, leaving Mike and the cooks to knead it by hand as "Yia Yia" had done.
"Ten minutes later, you guys fell out on the floor, exhausted," she said.
They got a new mixer soon after.
Family atmosphere
Theo's relocated from San Marco Avenue to King Street in 1993.
With the move, the restaurant's look and character started to embody St. Augustine's nautical spirit. Fish nets and buoys drape from the ceiling, while ship wood and steering wheels line the walls.
"The San Marco (restaurant) theme evolved from Arthur's, but here, this is ours," Estelle said.
Theo's serves breakfast and lunch, focused on American classic fare with a few Greek dishes and seafood, as well as homemade breads.
Mike and Estelle's maritime-themed restaurant has become dear to many in St. Augustine.
Doris Tiseth has been a Theo's employee for 25 years and comes in at 5:45 a.m. four days a week to make coffee, tea and frosting for the cinnamon rolls.
Her favorite part of the job is greeting her early morning customers.
"We've got absolutely great customers," she said. "Some I've been waiting on since San Marco."
St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver hosted her first community coffee at Theo's in January.
"It was like a family affair," Tiseth said. "Wall-to-wall, packed."
Before hosting that first community coffee, Shaver was already a fan of the restaurant.
Typically a vegetarian, she makes an exception for Theo's bacon.
"Theo's makes the nicest Christmas breakfast," Shaver said.
Retirement?
Mike and Estelle have a lot to say after almost 40 years in the restaurant business, but were stumped at the question of retirement.
"We like working as long as our health is fine," Mike said. "With the staff, it's an enjoyable thing, and we don't want to stop."
Theo's Restaurant is at 169 King St.
Hours are weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.