Farm Grill & Rotisserie Celebrates 25 Years In Newton

NEWTON, MA — For the past quarter century Farm Grill & Rotisserie on Needham Street has been serving up Greek favorites at the family-run restaurant. This year, the restaurant is quietly celebrating its 25th anniversary amid pandemic.

"What I really want to say is we're going to throw a huge party," said co-owner Alex Iliades. "But since we're dealing with these crazy times, we're going to wait to do a more formal celebration once everyone gets more comfortable and things settle down."

In 1996, Savvas "Sam" Iliades drove past the white building on Needham Street and saw that it was for sale.

"There were no fresh Greek food restaurants in the area," Alex Iliades said. "Around that time there were only a handful of restaurants on Needham Street.

Iliades struck a deal with the owner of the building, which manufactured fences, signed the papers the next day and then set to work building out his dream.

Since he immigrated from Greece to the US in the early 70s, he'd worked odd jobs in construction and at restaurants, including a famous Greek restaurant in Boston. But his son Alex said his passion lay in the food industry. He had opened a restaurant in Watertown Mall, and a doughnut shop in Quincy. But with the Newton restaurant, he saw something he wanted to last.

He sold his other restaurants and focused on the Grill.

"He had this vision, he wanted to make this place look so Greek you'd immediately know it's a Greek restaurant," said Alex Iliades.

And with that, the name of the restaurant didn't need a Greek name. Farm Grill would serve up authentic Greek cuisine, straight from the farm to the grill, he said.

Over the past two and a half decades the family adapted to customer feedback and trends, but the biggest change was when Alex Iliades joined his father in owning the restaurant about 10 years ago. His father spends his time in the kitchen and Alex Iliades says he's been working on taking the restaurant to the "next level."

He's helped modernize the restaurant from handwritten receipts to allowing for online orders and an easier computer system. He's working with his sister's Greek International Food Market in West Roxbury where they sell the family's Greek dressing. And he's helped get that bottled dressing into the Chelsea-based family-owned grocery and food delivery service New England Country Mart.

Alex Iliades said he's hoping to continue his father's legacy and expand the business in the years ahead.

When the pandemic hit, the family pivoted quickly, instituting curbside pickup and take out.

"Initially it was a shock, like it was for the rest of the country and the world," he said. "It's sad to see what's happened. We all feel for everyone. As a business it was definitely an adjustment."

They had to furlough workers for a couple of months in an effort to adjust, but Alex Illiades said he was determined not to close.

"We had to accept the new volumes and to adjust to make ends meet and to make sure customers felt safe," he said. "But we stuck through it."

There were times when nobody would walk in for hours, he said. But there were also times when someone would walk in and thank them for being open and tell others and send them in, too.

"We stuck it out. We were here for the community," he said.

They participated in a donation program taking money from community members to feed first responders at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Beth Israel, and Mass General. Someone paid for the Grill to cater a meal for the entire Worcester Police Department, all 400 people.

He was able to bring all of his staff back, and the summer business, with tables outside, helped, too. When the governor lowered capacity restrictions, the take-out and delivery business ticked upward. They've been able to hire extra staff to help field orders on nights and weekends.

"We already had an established take-out business, maybe 50 percent of our income came from that," he said. With eat in business down about 80 percent, it's the takeout that's been the saving grace. "Now, takeout volume has grown four times [what it once was]."

Alex Illiades said he's grateful for the support of his customers.

"I can't stress how much we appreciate the community," he said.

The restaurant still isn't hitting pre-pandemic levels of business, but he's optimistic.

"We're a place where families bring their children to eat their carrots or their lamb, we're going to be here for another 25 years, and we'll always be a place you can feel at home and get a healthy and hearty dish, when everybody feels comfortable again we'll have a huge party to show our appreciation for the community," he said.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.