At the age of 20, Dino Adamidis made his way to the United States from Greece to visit his sister in Michigan. Originally, his plans were to work at his sister and brother-in-law's "Best Steak House" and to become an entrepreneur. He learned English starting with the short terms: Rare, Medium, and Well Done. Somehow he was able to convince his soon-to-be-wife (unbeknownst to her), a beautiful Lebanese girl by the name of Vona to go on a date with him. After less than a year of dating she accepted his proposal of marriage and they were married in the summer of 1971 (July 17th if you want to wish them a happy anniversary sometime). After a 3-month honeymoon through the Greek Isles the lived together in Flint, MI; the same town where Vona's family lived.

They welcomed their first child in 1973, and their second in 1975. Sometime between 1973 & 1975 Dino's sister moved to Minneapolis and opened a Best Steak house in downtown Minneapolis. With the job market being down in Michigan, the family moved to Hopkins, MN. With the move and the new area money was hard to come by. Dino made it work with multiple jobs. He was a machine operator in Fridley, MN while also working at his sister's steakhouse.

In 1976 Dino was sworn in as a U.S. citizen. This happened to be the same day that they welcomed their third kid into the world. What a day. In that same time period, Dino was offered a job as head waiter for Nicklow's restaurant off Highway 100.

He continued for many years working as head waiter and at the machine shop. While working at the restaurant he discovered his love for making people happy through food and customer service. This carried over into his work and he found his section of the restaurant to be the most requested seating area. He wanted to be in the restaurant business.

Still, he wanted to be in business for himself. After a discussion with Vona they decided to try it. The first stop was a small, white and blue stand at the art fair: Rose Fête. The three small kids were wrapped around Vona's leg as they sold Gyro sandwiches to the spectators. Dino and Vona said "At first it was difficult, I found myself chasing people down with samples of the meat. We knew if the people would try it they would love it." Through the following years they went to more events around the metro area. In 1983 they packed their stand and tried the road with WeFest. They didn't do so well at that one, but they knew they needed to try.

In 1986 they opened their first freestanding building on Snelling and Larpentuer in Falcon Heights. It was only an 8 booth building, but they were very successful. After 19 years the first fast-casual store opened in Coon Rapids. Shortly thereafter franchising with the first franchise opening in 2002.

In 2004 the city of Falcon Heights approached and wanted to redevelop the corner of the original location. It was decided to build a new store. Literally, the old location closed for business one night only to reopen the next day across the street. "It was truly amazing" says the family. The ability to accommodate well over 100 guests in the new location was a huge hit and continues today. Says Vona "We have been very blessed with loyal customers and a great Dino's family."

Dino and Vona are now semi retired and are trying to enjoy the hard work they have both done for the last 30 years. Their two oldest children are now running the company with plans to expand.

"Thank you for all the support from all of our guests over the years" -- Dino and Vona Adamidis