George Georgopoulos is cutting his hours in half, leaving the round-the-clock headaches attached to the restaurant business to his son, Nasi.
He’ll be home nights and have more time to spend with his wife, Jill, who is ill and needs his care, and his three grandchildren. He can turn his attention to odd jobs around the house, neglected for the years that George ran Veano’s Italian Kitchen II, morning, noon and night. Veano’s closed six months ago after its lease expired.
Now, George sees himself as a full-time employee and, unless needed, nothing more, welcoming 40-hour work weeks when Beanie’s Bar and Grill opens Saturday, replacing the Hungry Buffalo Restaurant in the small plaza at the intersection of Routes 129 and 106 in Loudon.
The restaurant will have a full menu, a full bar, pool tables and a family flavor. For one thing, Beanie refers to George’s wife, Jill, whom the children growing up called ‘Jilly Bean,’ which morphed into Beanie.
Nasi will be the top dog, barking (respectfully, of course) instructions to his father. Food and drink will be served until midnight on weekends, 10 p.m. during the week, meaning the boss supervising the ever-present night shift takes on the monstrous responsibilities of cooking, greeting and closing, and thus establishing a visible rapport with customers.
Nasi says he’s ready to make the commitment, playfully asking, “What else would I do?”
His father says he’ll work extra hours if needed, but his plan is to stick to an eight-hour-a-day work schedule as best he can.
“That is my plan,” George said. “We make plans in life and sometimes it does not work out, but I don’t want to work 80 or 90 hours a week anymore. Life is too short. You’re only passing through once.”
His life at Veano’s featured a loyal client base, a family of staffers who had been associated with the Georgopoulos family for decades. Nasi worked for his father through those nine years at Veano’s in the little strip mall on Manchester Street.
Like the other merchants there, George’s lease was terminated last year, something these local business owners knew was coming eventually to make room for commercial businesses and homes.
At the time, George was unsure what the future would bring. He knew, however, that at 56, he was too young to stop cooking, saying, “Working around the house is no fun. I am a worker. I worked my whole life. I’ve been cooking since I was 15 or 16.”
He continued, “I did most of the cooking from Manchester Street for customers that I had known for years. I missed the people.”
Still, George knew that whatever endeavor he chose, reverting back to those exhausting seven-day work weeks that he endured at Veano’s was no longer an option. He wanted to cook days, go home nights.
That’s part of the plan. Meanwhile, George wants to help his 29-year-old son, Nasi, who is married with children, and who will begin paying his long-day, late-night dues on Saturday.
His father already paid them. Asked what time Beanie’s will open on Day 1, George said, “I don’t know. I just work here.”