Today we’d like to introduce you to Manoli Katsanevas.
Hi Manoli, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Here you go.
Chef Manoli Katsanevas entered the foodservice industry when he was 13 years old through his family owned restaurant Crown Burgers. He continued on to graduate from the Salt Lake Community College Culinary Arts Program and has worked at several restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley including The Grand America Hotel, Smith’s Bistro, Flemming’s Prime Steakhouse, Caffe Niche and Fresco Italian Café. He has shadowed several chefs including Chef Dave Jones (Log Haven), Chef Melvin Hayward (Salt Lake Country Club), Chef Gavin Baker (Mist Project), Chef Scott Rutter (former chef at the Wort Hotel) and Chef Donatella Arpaia (Chefdance).
In 2008 Manoli met his future wife/business partner. Katrina always had a love for cooking and was always inspired by Jamie Oliver. She is a self taught cook.
In 2012 Manoli and his wife Katrina decided to open their own business, Manoli’s Catering. They acquired an excellent customer base that allowed them to further expand their business and build business credit and capital to open Manoli’s.
Manoli’s Greek restaurant opened in 2015. It was an instant success in the local community. Winning multiple awards such as Time magazine best restaurant in Utah, Salt Lake magazine best restaurant, and two time James Beard semi finalist for outstanding hospitality. During the pandemic the restaurant was forced to close and ran a take and bake concept along with gyros to go, this led to the opening of their fast casual gyro/market concept, Paréa.
Manoli and Katrina operate both restaurants and also do catering. They also have a Parea wholesale line that is sold in local markets such as Caputo’s
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
their have been a lot of struggles along the way. The pandemic was very difficult we had to close for 5 months and had to do take out and take and bake. We lost a lot of our employees and had to hire a lot of new staff members.
We also had a flood on 12/30/2022. It was the day before our busiest service of the year. We got a call from our morning prep cook that it was raining from the ceiling. We walked in and there was 250,000 worth of damage. We had to lose the restaurant for 4 months and remodel. Luckily we had insurance that took care of most of the bills and paying our staff while we were closed.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are known for our hospitality, farm to table greek cuisine, and our quality ingredients. We are proud of the way we treat all of our customers and the hospitality that we offer. We make everyone feel like they are at home. We make everything from scratch and use the freshest ingredients you can find.
What matters most to you? Why?
quality. whether its service or ingredients al; we want to do is have the best quality
Contact Info:
- Website: https://manolison9th.com
- Instagram: manolison9th
- Facebook: manolison9th
- Other: https://pareaon9th.com
