A beloved Greek restaurant has opened a new Toronto location, keeping the cultural legacy of the previous tenant.
Following the success at its location on Queen St. W., Mamakas Food Group has opened Agora at 105 Scollard St. in Yorkville.
The new grab-and-go restaurant, which officially opened on Sept. 24, has 40 dine-in seats, as well an outdoor area in its back “secret garden.” Known as the Group’s casual Greek market concept, Agora carries freshly baked pita, house-made dips, souvlaki, and salads.
Agora is Mamakas Food Group’s Greek market concept.
The vision behind Agora
Agora opened on Queen West eight years ago.
It was an idea that stemmed from Thanos Tripi, who is the owner and operator behind Mamakas Taverna on Ossington Ave.
“The original idea really came from our Mamakas guests, who were constantly asking if they could buy our dips and pita bread to take home. At the time, we were making everything at Mamakas, and simply didn’t have the space within our restaurant to offer anything at retail,” Tripi told Toronto.com.
“So, I started thinking about how we could create an offshoot of Mamakas that was more approachable, with the same quality we had become known for, but with less of an overall commitment.”
Mamakas Food Group’s Thanos Tripi.
Living in the Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood, Tripi really wanted to “feed the park” and the community surrounding it, and saw the opportunity for a quick-serve restaurant.
“I had always imagined Agora as a Greek market, and when the space became available, it felt right,” he said.
The space at 921 Queen St. W. is directly across from Bellwoods, and was previously 69 Vintage, a clothing shop owned by a friend of Tripi. “It wasn’t without its challenges, but that became the first Agora,” he said.
The Yorkville location and its Greek legacy
While Agora has just opened in Yorkville, Tripi said the story of its location goes back as far as the brand itself, and also came with its own challenges.
Previously the Scollard Street Diner, the former tenant at the Yorkville building was Tom Stavropoulos, who had approached Tripi to take over the space just around the opening of their Queen location.
“He felt Agora would be a really good fit for the neighbourhood and that we could help carry on his family’s Greek restaurant legacy there,” Tripi said, adding that Stavropoulos continued to approach him for years before they both finally aligned and saw the potential, both in the space along with the neighbourhood.
“We ultimately signed a 20-year lease, and when we took it over, I wanted to get in there quickly and work with the existing structure rather than immediately gut the building,” he said. And because infrastructure was limited, they decided to bring back their pop-up concept, Souvla.
Back in 2021, Souvla began as a pop-up patio on Ossington Ave. As its popularity began, Souvla popped up at several summer festivals in 2022, and by winter that year, the pop-up was at 105 Scollard St.
“It ended up being incredibly successful in Yorkville, and we kept it going much longer than we originally intended,” said Tripi. “Then the fire happened.”
In March of 2025, a huge fire broke out along Scollard St., and Tripi’s restaurant was in one of the buildings that was badly damaged. He took this as a time to reset, and make some changes.
Agora has dine-in seats in Yorkville.
“The landlord and I saw it as an opportunity to pause and reset, and I decided to make a significant investment in the building and take it right down to the studs so we could finally create the space for the Agora that we originally envisioned,” he said.
Among the changes was the addition of proper seating in the space, which Tripi couldn’t do at the Queen location. Yorkville’s spot will also open at 9 a.m., with Agora’s new kafé program, offering coffee, freshly baked pastries, and made-to-order canned iced coffees.
“I wanted this Agora to be a more comfortable neighbourhood/community spot — somewhere people can come in, sit down, enjoy the food and really spend some time with us,” he said.
