Some offbeat news from Franklin Square: The Greek restaurant Alpine has undergone a concept change after nearly 40 years. The restaurant is now a brunch diner with a much more literal name, Franklin & Phoebe Brunchery, which refers to the cross streets of the building.
The story goes that Greek immigrant Theodore Delis purchased the restaurant Alpine Garden, which was down the street from Plattduetsche Park, in 1986. The place originally served German and Austrian food like its neighbor, says Theodore’s niece, Jenny Tzakas. Her uncle didn’t think it would be a good move to change the name. So he just switched the menu to Greek and Italian American foods, running Alpine with his family for decades, and kept the business going even when tragedy struck. A few years back, his wife Helen was struck by a car on her way to work and spent a year recovering from the ordeal.
“We never thought she would walk again, but she’s back at it,” Tzakas said.
More recently, Theodore felt it was time for a change. He was getting older and he didn’t want to work evenings, so he came up with the idea of a brunch spot. He hired a chef from Florida to work with his son, chef Dimitrios “Jimmy” Delis, to develop a new menu. A double-sided page, the succinct selection includes omelets, funky pancake flavors like cannoli and baklava, as well as sandwiches and salads.
They added a full bar, and Jimmy’s wife, Veronica Delis, came up with a cocktail menu. Jenny, who has her own interior design firm, redid the dining room.
Franklin & Phoebe Brunchery in Franklin Square. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
The restaurant reopened in October and has been busy ever since. On a recent Sunday morning, the dining room was packed and Helen was up at the host stand, quoting a 45-minute wait. (Thankfully it didn’t take that long.) Jimmy was back in the kitchen putting out pancakes and Benedicts, and Theodore roamed the room, chatting with regulars.
“I’ve been here for 40 years, but every day now I face new customers,” Theodore said. “This Sunday past, 50 people were waiting outside to sit down.”
Tzakis was also upbeat about the concept change.
“Honestly it makes my heart so happy,” she said. “(Theodore’s) at the point when he’s ready to retire. He did this at 70. People don’t usually do a career change at 70. But he did it for his son and his family. I was nervous. He put a lot of time and money into it, and we’re all fingers crossed that it would work. But it seems to be a huge success.”
Franklin & Phoebe Brunchery, 11 Franklin Ave., Franklin Square, 516-354-5770, franklinandphoebe.com. Open 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.
Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.
