Yeero Revolution hitting the street with authentic gyros

It started nearly 10 years ago with an engagement party. It ended with a culinary revolution.

The party was for John Nikolaou’s sister, who was engaged to Pete Koutropoulos’ cousin. Koutropoulos was the best man.

The two found common ground in food and music. That friendship recently blossomed into a business partnership.

Today, Nikolaou and Koutropoulos are co-owners of Yeero Revolution, 700 E. Lake-Cook Road, in the Ricky Rockets mall at the northeast corner of Lake-Cook and Lexington Drive in Buffalo Grove.

“We always thought it would be great to open up a place one day,” Koutropoulos said.

For the uninitiated, yeero is the correct pronunciation of gyro, the authentic Greek street food that is this eatery’s specialty.

It’s the real deal — the type of food you might see people carrying as they walk the streets of Athens.

The vibe is that of a modern yeero spot you would find in Greece today, with a large TV screen streaming a typical Athens street scene.

Greek street food, Nikolaou said, is basically food on the go. Something you can walk away with.

Both co-owners have a background in restaurants.

Koutropoulos started working in restaurants when he was 13. He worked at father John’s diner, the Village Grill in Arlington Heights.

He later worked at Charkies in Carol Stream.

In Nikolaou’s case, he also has worked in restaurants since his youth. His restaurant experience includes working in Athens, Greece, where he attended high school.

“My parents decided that we were going to all move back to Greece,” he said. “That’s where the roots got stronger.”

His said his father took him all over Athens to show him what it was like. At one point, they went to eat, and his father handed him a pork gyro. He was hooked.

Nikolaou opened a previous incarnation of Yeero Revolution in 2015 in Evanston that no longer is in operation. The restaurant responded to a demand for the Greek-style gyro.

“In Greece, gyro is made of pork or chicken,” Nikolaou said. “At that time there was nowhere to get it.”

So what makes this authentic?

“The spices and the love, honestly,” Nikolaou said. “This place is literally built on love.”

The varieties of yeero, which can be served in a sandwich or a bowl, are the Chicago Yeero with lamb and beef, the Hand-Stacked Yeero that you would find in Greece, chicken, pork and spicy pork.

The restaurants fare includes YR fries, which are topped with gyro meat and sauce. The Revolution Melt contains gyro, fresh onion, sweet peppers and saganaki pressed between two pitas.

Dessert items include loukoumades, a Greek doughnut you can eat with Nutella or honey.

The Greek flavor extends to the decor. The hallway walls are graced with photos of the streets of Greece.

The business benefits from a good location. A residential development sits across the street, while the fuel center is a natural incubator for customers.

Customers enjoying an early afternoon meal Tuesday included Prairie View resident Petko Petrovich and his daughter, Aleksia Petrovich.

Petko said he grew to love gyros while an architecture student at the University of Illinois Chicago.

“We don’t have a lot of Greek restaurants around here, especially fast food, like street food,” he said.

Aleksia, who is following in her father’s footsteps by studying architecture at UIC, always has been a fan of Greek and Mediterranean-style food.

“We have family that’s part Greek, so I have always grown up eating it,” she said, adding she was able to enjoy Mediterranean food at the cafeteria during her years at Stevenson High School.

“Food’s obviously our passion,” Koutropoulos said. “We like to meet new people. That’s what makes it fun.”