Kostas Fostieris, the owner and face of downtown’s iconic Greek Deli, will be stepping away after 35 years spent dutifully running his deli. The grab-and-go eatery has served as a lunchtime staple for DC’s office workers, who fill the tiny joint every weekday for a taste of Fostieris’s famous avgolemono soup and specials including baked pastitsio and spanakopita.
“I’m going to miss everybody,” Fostieris says. “I’m here for so many years. Most of the customers, I know their names, I know their families.”
The deli announced Fostieris’s departure on Monday in an Instagram post. In the days since, devoted regulars have stopped by to say their goodbyes to Fostieris and share how much they’ll miss him.
“Kostas is a good man. That’s all I can say,” says Victor Haskins, one of the regulars who stopped by on a Tuesday afternoon to bid Fostieris adieu. Now a retired police officer, Haskins used to work the beat around Greek Deli and was a loyal customer for over twenty years. “You ask any police officer on this beat, there’s nothing but love for him.”
Greek Deli first opened in 1990 with only Fostieris and his wife Irene manning the small shop. The early days were difficult. The deli had no customers, and Irene would often stand out in the street with a big tray of baklava, handing small slices to passersby and entreating them to give the humble new spot a try.
Over time, as word of Fostieris’s Greek cooking spread, the downtown lunch counter built up a base of loyal customers. Now, even Secret Service Agents count amongst Fostieris’s many fans. Fostieris attributes his success in maintaining a loyal customer base to two factors: his commitment to providing high-quality meals and his winning personality.
“I like to talk. I like to make jokes. I like to make fun,” says Fostieris. “I like to say, ‘hey, my friend, how are you! How many kids do you have? Hey, where do you live?’ I know names, five hundred names. ‘Hello Paul, how’s your wife? How’s your kid?’”
Reflecting on his time at Greek Deli, Fostieris feels a sense of fullness; every day was its own adventure. Over the past 35 years, though, Fostieris witnessed many other restaurants on the once-bustling 19th Street shutter. With the advent of work-from-home during COVID, business in the area still hasn’t fully recovered; Fostieris notes that the changes from before and after COVID are like “day and night”.
Looking forward, Fostieris will be passing on Greek Deli to husband-and-wife duo Khaled and d’Juana Abukaf. Fostieris plans to stay at least three more weeks in order to carefully teach the Abukafs how to cook Fostieris-style. “I believe one-hundred percent it’s going to stay the same way,” says Fostieris. “I’m not going to leave until I’m sure these people know all of my recipes.”
The new owners plan on making some small changes, such as adding orzo and rice bowls to the menu, but for the most part they’ll keep everything as Fostieris envisioned. “It’s basically an icon restaurant,” says d’Juana. “He has such a good concept that I mean, if it’s not broke, why change it, right?”
