Brothers bring Mediterranean flavor to West Shore

The Kranias family believes it has a winning recipe for a sustainable restaurant concept in the soon-to-open Olive Oil Grille in the Camp Hill Commons, a shopping center under development in East Pennsboro Township.

It will specialize in Mediterranean cuisine, which brothers John and Niko Kranias see as a healthy alternative to fast food.

“We’re trying to show people that you can eat healthier to prolong your life and just because you want to eat healthy, doesn’t mean you can’t have a delicious meal,” said Maryam Kranias, John’s wife and the restaurant’s marketing director.

Choosing the Camp Hill Commons

When the brothers teamed up to open a restaurant, they did their homework and evaluated various markets.

The pair was not unfamiliar with the business, having learned at the side of their father, who owned a pizza restaurant in Gettysburg. When he retired, the sons took over for a period of time before selling the business, moving to Greece and operating a restaurant there from 2009 to 2012.

“Living in Greece, we learned a lot about the Greek culture and Greek food in the Mediterranean region. It was a great life experience,” said John.

Upon returning to the states, the brothers briefly considered opening a restaurant in Jersey City, but ultimately the pair moved to Mechanicsburg and set up shop in the new Camp Hill Commons complex, which is being developed on Erford Road by Triple Crown Corp. and J.C. Bar Properties Inc. on land that was once home to an office building.

Other restaurants in the plaza include FirstWatch, Hawaii Poke and Tonino’s Pizza.  But there also is a fair amount of businesses in the area, including hospitals and nursing homes – some of whom might appreciate a more diverse menu.

“People are starving for something like this around here. There’s too much of the same,” said John.

The concept

The fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant seats 60 and will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. The Kranias family anticipates hiring between 15 and 20 employees to work at the restaurant, which will feature made-from-scratch foods using family recipes.

Customers will queue up at the front and proceed forward assembly-line style, to build a bowl, or fill a pita, with protein choices like chicken, lamb, grilled pork and red wine braised beef, a choice of grains or rice, seasonal vegetables, and dips and spreads like tzatziki, yogurt dill aioli and roasted red pepper hummus.

“The combinations are practically endless,” said Niko, adding that there’s something for nearly every diet, with keto, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free choices.

The owners pride themselves on the fact that no freezer, microwave or fryer will be seen. And with daily deliveries from local purveyors like Harrisburg-based Strites’ Orchard, Hershey’s Bow Creek Farms and others, they said customers can rely on fresh food all the time.

According to John, meats will be braised or grilled with simple ingredients. “Our pork will be marinated in olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano, for instance,” he said.

The restaurateurs are especially proud of their olive oil, which comes from a 10-acre olive grove in Corinth, which they own with one of their cousins.

“We brought some in for the back of the house to use in our recipes and we are thinking of importing some for sale in the restaurant,” said John.

When Nick Mallios heard about the new restaurant, he was optimistic about its future. Mallios, who ran The Sunnyside Restaurant in Carlisle for six decades, sees the brothers filling a much-needed niche and said he expects the Kranias family to do well by appealing to health-conscious consumers and those who are tired of the same old choices.

“I think it’s an excellent idea to offer healthy food in the area and it will beat the proliferation of pizza places,” he said.