As Greek music plays from a speaker in the corner, Achilles Bardos makes his way out from the back room of The Bakery at Roasty’s Diner, dancing and shaking a tambourine.
His wife, Olga, and a patron join in as Bardos jokes with the rest of the crowd to stand up and get moving.
Bardos, a Greek native, is obviously in his element when speaking about his home country.
“I’m very proud of the place, the people, the culture,” Bardos said. “Everybody knows about Greece to some degree, but they don’t always see that this little place on earth has created all this. It created democracy. It has created so many philosophers, engineers, architects.”
That passion for his culture and his drive to teach others about it led Bardos — who taught school psychology for 35 years at the University of Northern Colorado — to start “Greekend.” The twice-monthly celebration of Greece involves food, conversation and a heavy dose of culture.
Bardos bought Roasty’s Diner, 920 8th Ave., in 2022 and turned the accompanying bar into a bakery.
“We invite people to simulate the atmosphere of a Greek taverna — where families and friends get together,” Bardos said. “Sometimes you may know the person next to you, sometimes you may not. But life is celebrated with food and friends.”
A taverna is a small, casual restaurant that specializes in home-cooked Greek cuisine.
Last Friday’s Greekend started with just that: dolma (rice and spices wrapped in a grape leaf), tiropita (a cheese pie triangle) and falafel with tzatziki (a creamy yogurt, cucumber and garlic sauce).
Once most of the appetizer plates were cleared, Bardos came around with a tray full of Ouzo shots.
It’s best to wait until after eating something, so “it doesn’t go straight to your veins,” Bardos said as he passed out the licorice-flavored spirit.
Next came the main course: lemon-baked chicken and potatoes.
“It was my mom’s favorite dish,” Bardos said. “When I was going back home she used to prepare it for me.”
The night closed out with revani — a sweet, soaked orange cake — for dessert.
Bardos discloses the main course when people sign up for a Greekend, but the rest of the menu typically remains a surprise until attendees sit down on Friday nights. That’s done partially to maintain some mystery, and partially because the food often depends on “what mood we might have this week,” Bardos said.
But the night out isn’t just about food. Half of that taverna atmosphere that Bardos is trying to recreate comes from the people and the environment.
Along with the tambourine and dancing, Friday’s Greekend — the 26th iteration — featured a raffle of a few different prizes (all of which included olive oil), though Bardos did warn attendees to “always beware of Greeks bringing gifts.”
Each Greekend is a different experience. The March 13 iteration included a dance lesson from Bardos, and the Feb. 27 edition featured a short film projected on the wall after sliding the majority of the dining tables to the side.
One couple in attendance Friday was new to Greekend, but not at all new to Bardos or the Greek experience.
Chris and Caren Hoffbauer, newly wed and freshly honeymooned, came into Roasty’s one day after already deciding to honeymoon in Greece. Noticing the Greek decor around the cafe and accompanying bakery, the couple learned quickly that they needed to talk to Bardos about their upcoming vacation.
“He probably spent an hour with us that morning,” Caren said. “He told us all the stuff to do. What months to go. Where the locals go, not where the tourists go.”
“We based a lot of it on that,” Chris added. “And it worked out perfectly, because it was no stress, it was fun, it was relaxing. We just had a blast.”
And though it’s hard to capture the essence of Greece, they said, Bardos does a pretty good job.
“The event he’s putting on here is what they do in Greece,” Chris said. “They want you to hang around. They want you to be there. And they just want everybody to be together having fun.”
Because as Bardos says: “We can’t take you to Greece. But we’ll bring you back the memories.”
Greekend
Greekend runs from 6-8 p.m. every other Friday at Roasty’s Diner and The Bakery, with plans to hopefully start hosting them weekly. The next iteration is April 10.
The spirit of Greekends has made its way into Roasty’s, with traditional Greek food finding its way onto the menu from time to time.
Bardos hopes eventually there will be enough demand that he can expand the event to Thursday-Saturday of every weekend and operate it more like a traditional restaurant, with an open menu and no reservations needed.
To reserve a spot at an upcoming Greekend event, call Roasty’s at 970-356-2806 or stop in from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. The cost to attend is $40.
