Restaurateur keeps it in the family

[attach]3728[/attach]The blinking light bulbs around the exterior orange sign that says “Aris Place” have been reflecting off the Roncesvalles Avenue sidewalk for about as long as the restaurant has been around.

Known for its all-day breakfast and run by founder John Athanaselos and his four sons — Louis, Peter, Tom and Chris — the resto has been at 229 Roncesvalles for 35 years.

Drop in on any given day and you’ll see most of the family working on the line in the open kitchen at the front. Grill duty for the busy weekends is reserved for the patriarch.

Not to be confused with Aris Grill, situated on the same side of the street but further north, Aris Place is, it seems, a neighbourhood institution. Some locals who post their opinions on blogs and foodie Internet sites call it the best family restaurant in the ’hood.

With bacon and eggs on the menu for five dollars and a quarter — Peter says they haven’t increased the price for at least a decade — and a burger for just under three bucks, cost would seem to account for the longevity of Aris Place.

But with hungry diners, from longstanding patrons to students and young families frequenting the joint, Aris Place is clearly a neighbourhood haunt.

Peter speaks of the place as though it’s a microcosm of Roncesvalles Village.

“It’s a community hangout, if they’re not in the park,” he says of families who come in.

One customer, he says, has been coming since before it was even called Aris Place. He used to wait outside the former resto before it opened for the French fries.

“They’ve known my parents since before we were born,” says Peter of such folk.

And speaking of fries, John says people who used to come in for his famous fries and gravy as teens return as adults, even when they’ve moved to other parts of the city.

“They come back with their kids,” he says. “It’s a very good feeling.”

In the early 1970s, John took over what was then called Teddy’s Burgers with his two brothers, the elder of whom was named Aris. They eventually renamed the joint Aris Place in 1975, and when John’s brothers retired in the early 1990s and 2000 respectively, John’s immediate family became involved.

His sons, ranging in age from 18 to 29, grew up in Aris Place, honing the skills they now use daily.

“We couldn’t wait to flip eggs,” says Peter, who started as a bus boy and remembers cutting toast in the early days.

Their dad always wanted the family to be close — even mom Bessie helps out — and they are, Peter says.

“The foundation was built,” he says. “It kept us as one.”

The place hasn’t really changed much over the years, save for a sleek bathroom reno in the basement. Antlers still hang on the walls, giving off a distinctive retro rec room vibe, while recently installed black and white copies of photographs of the Roncy and surrounding area purchased from the Toronto Archives lend an air of local history to the space — fittingly so, considering it’s an icon in its own right.

A few years ago John installed a takeout window in the front to accommodate students who come from Fern Avenue Public School on their lunch. They’d crowd in the front of the restaurant to order fries and gravy; now they wait in line outside, he says.

The family could have set up shop near where they live in Greektown, he says, but they didn’t want to.

A man of seemingly few words, John says it’s great to be able to work with his family every day. Even so, business is business.

“You have to be on top of your business all the time.”