ARLINGTON, VA – A comforting symphony of scents wafts through the air as Louisa Tavlas settles into her seat at Our Mom Eugenia. Classic dishes, including gemista, saganaki, and pastitio, emerge from the kitchen of this family-run restaurant in Northern Virginia, where the staff greet each guest with a warmth that feels like home. For this regular, each visit is more than just a meal – it’s a journey back to her childhood.
“Having grown up in Greece, I often get homesick,” said Tavlas. “Eating at Our Mom Eugenia makes me feel closer to home. The service is warm, the ambiance is welcoming, and – crucially – the food is excellent.”
What distinguishes Our Mom Eugenia from the numerous Mediterranean fusion spots in the DC area is its commitment to exclusively Greek cuisine. Behind the three locations in Great Falls, Shirlington, and Mosaic District, stands Eugenia Hobson, whose reputation for her mastery of quality, authentic Greek cuisine is the backbone of the restaurant’s success.
Though she had formal culinary training at Angeliki Hatzimichali’s ‘Elliniko Spiti’, a vocational school in Athens, the foundation of her cooking is rooted in the memory and flavors of her youth.
Raised by her grandparents in Zakynthos after losing her father at the age of two, she spent her childhood watching her grandmother cook.
“That’s where it all started,” Eugenia Hobson said. “My true love for cooking began in my grandmother’s kitchen. Many of the recipes I still use are from her.”
In 1972, she met her husband, a Greek-American U.S. Air Force service member stationed in Athens. At just 17, she moved to New York to start her family. For years, she put her culinary dreams on hold to raise her two sons and daughter while her husband worked. Once her children were older, she returned to the kitchen, working at Greek establishments like Wooden Shoe Pastry Bakery in Silver Spring, MD, and Mykonos Grill in Rockville, MD. Yet, she never let go of her biggest dream.
“I always wanted to open my own place,” Eugenia Hobson said. “When you work for someone else, you always have to follow their instructions. But now, everything we serve is exactly how I want it, just like how I grew up cooking and how my grandmother taught me.”
In 2016, Eugenia’s long-held dream of opening her own restaurant became a reality when she and her sons, Alexander and Philip, launched their first location in Great Falls. The restaurant’s name, initially met with hesitation from Eugenia, was Alexander’s idea, inspired by a brunch spot he had come across in Manhattan called Jack’s Wife Freda.
“We wanted a name that was personal and family-oriented,” co-owner Alexander Hobson said. “So many places have single-word or generic tavern names, so we wanted to do something different. It also showcases our mom, of course, so the name conveys all the things we think our family and restaurant represent.”
The restaurant’s success was immediate. The intimate, family-run atmosphere, combined with the exceptional food, earned Our Mom Eugenia a devoted following. With immense support from the local community, Greeks and Philhellenes alike, the family opened a second location in Mosaic District in 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and later a third in Shirlington in 2023.
When they expanded to Shirlington and Mosaic District, they infused the decor with lighter, more airy elements.
“We wanted warmth and personality – no white tablecloths, no stiff service,” co-owner Philip Hobson said. “Even though our setting is more casual, the food itself is on par with five-star restaurants.”
While they considered opening a fourth location, the family chose instead to expand their Mosaic District restaurant last month by about 1,400 square feet, doubling its seating capacity. They are also exploring the idea of opening a commissary kitchen, which would serve all three locations and handle the rapidly growing demand for catering.
“Catering has exploded in the last two years,” Alexander Hobson said. “We need a dedicated space just for food prep and to ensure consistency across all locations. We don’t want customers to think, ‘oh, the food in Shirlington isn’t quite like at Mosaic or Great Falls.’”
Despite the restaurant’s popularity and expansion, its heart remains the same: authentic, high-quality Greek cuisine. From kolokithokeftedes to fasolakia to avgolemono soup, the menu showcases traditional recipes Eugenia once cooked for her own children.
“These are the same dishes my children grew up eating,” she explained. “Now, our customers enjoy them, too, all made with fresh ingredients imported from Greece.”
For the Hobsons, the restaurant is more than a business – it’s a testament to their enduring passion and the shared journey of building something meaningful together, as a family.
“After years of being apart, suddenly we were together every single day,” Alexander Hobson said. “What matters most is working side by side with my family, creating something that honors my mom and brings the community together.”
