FAIRFIELD — Lantern Point Taverna is meant to be a place where family and Fairfield meet, and that’s especially true for its owner, Jimmy Karageorge.
Karageorge and his siblings practically grew up in the restaurant industry — their father immigrated from Greece in the 1950s and bought a hot dog stand in downtown Bridgeport before opening a diner in Hamden with his brother in 1972 . Making takeout boxes for customers and napping in the car while their parents ran their business nearby formed a new generation of restaurateurs in the family, leading to Jimmy Karageorge, who recently opened Lantern Point Taverna in Fairfield.
“It’s all about making the family proud,” Karageorge said.
The opening of Lantern Point Tavern marks the long-awaited return of Karageorge’s Greek cuisine to Fairfield after the 2006 closing of Europa, a Greek restaurant that Jimmy’s brother John owned for about 25 years. Karageorge, who worked in Europe as a chef and is now a real estate agent in the area, has already opened two Shelton restaurants with Black Forest and Captain’s Pizza, and said he never planned to open another in Fairfield until people in town started talking.
“I was born, raised and raised in Fairfield,” he said. “I always get stopped and people say, ‘When are you going to open another restaurant?’ and I always laugh. I was like, ‘Never.'”
“Never say never,” echoed his sister, Konstantina Karageorghe, who helps out at the family restaurant.
“Never say never,” he repeated.
Local interest in Greek food and the Greek cuisine space in downtown Fairfield, which has a dense concentration of Italian restaurants, was all Jimmy Karageorge had to convince to bring Lantern Point Taverna to Post Road.
“You can expect great home-cooked meals here,” he said. “It’s something different that’s not included Postal route.”
Jimmy Karageorge said the restaurant, which is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, specializes in dishes including Greek-style fish, small lamb chops known as “latholémeno,” braised short ribs, gyros, soup, salad , a mix of dips, Greek cocktails and more than 10 Greek wines. He said the menu introduces Greek bruschettas called dakos and orange pita, an orange-flavored sponge cake drizzled with honey syrup.
Lantern Point Taverna also pays homage to Europe by offering its signature dish, “Chicken Delight,” breaded chicken wrapped in a pita with melted cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo, added Constantina Karageorge.
Jimmy Karageorge said the staff make all the ingredients in-house and prepare portions that can deliver guaranteed satisfaction.
“You won’t leave my place hungry,” he said.
Konstantina Karageorge said the staff behind businesses like the Karageorgi-owned restaurants take a “family first” approach, relying on each other for support and manpower when help is needed. She said his family and connection to the local community energizes the restaurant through the challenges that come with running any small business while juggling rising costs.
“We’re really invested in the community,” she said. “Our community has missed us over the years as a family and as our Greek cuisine and other specialties.”
She said growing up under the tutelage of their father, George Karageorge, taught them and their siblings the importance of cleanliness, organization, and pride in the dishes they serve to their customers. Pride in self, community, family and morality make up the Greek virtue known as “philotimo” that the restaurant hopes its customers will experience when they step inside.
“We’ve just had so much love and so much support from everyone that came and we’ve just been so successful again in this way that again my dad would be so proud,” she said.