Tiffany's Family Restaurant Combines Comfort Food and Politics

Paul Hittos is a Columbia School of Journalism graduate, a Marine Corps vet who served in the Iraqi war, a successful businessman and a father of four young boys.

Plus he was recently elected Chairman of the Board of the Greater Palm Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce.

But despite his many personal and professional accomplishments, the thing Hittos, who co-owns and operates , gets recognized for most is being a proud Libertarian and an unabashed Tea Party supporter.

"My Libertarian friends like to say the Tea Party is full of bible thumpers and right-wing nut jobs," Hittos said from the Tiffany's dining room last week. "Truth is, this party has Republicans, Democrats, Independents, union workers."

"It's so unlike what my buddies and other people think."

The son of Albanian immigrants, Hittos, 38, and his siblings were raised with strong values that included a staunch work ethic, a love of family, and a penchant for wearing their political beliefs on their sleeves.

His late father, John, ran a popular banquet restaurant in Chicago for many years before he moved the family to Florida in 1982 and founded Tiffany's, a family-style eatery on US 19 North that specializes in comfort food like big breakfasts, meatloaf and "super" sandwiches.

The restaurant's association with the political world began shortly thereafter.

"My father was friends with (former Congressman) Mike Bilirakis from the Rotary Club, so he agreed to put his campaign sign - a small one - outside the restaurant," Hittos recalls.

"Then my sister, Elizabeth, who was a state prosecutor, went to work for Gus Bilirakis' law firm in 1998 and she suggested putting his sign up, and then we had his election party here."

"It was one thing after another that got us deeper and deeper into it, and as we got deeper into it, people who liked it came more and more and people who didn't like it stayed away."

Although displaying a political affiliation can often mean the kiss of death for any business, the Hittos family never subscribed to the theory that standing up for what you believed in was a bad thing.

"I was very nervous about it at first...but our parents escaped from an Orwellian society so we could speak freely," he reasons. "Is it bad for business? Maybe. But if people like our food, our service, our atmosphere, they should come in." 

Liz Hittos agrees with her brother's assessment of the family.

"Our parents instilled a penchant in us for getting involved in the political process and being vocal," she said via email. "They were persecuted under a communist regime in Albania and had to make daring escapes to freedom."

"It gave us a deep appreciation for our First Amendment rights – sometimes to the detriment of business."

Paul Hittos claims to have noticed a distinct decline in business due to his political beliefs once over the last 28 years.

"The only time the business has been affected by politics was after the 2000 (presidential) election. I put a smart comment up on the marquee about people in West Palm Beach, and we definitely saw a drop in business for a while."

"But since then, it's been fine."

Even though Hittos and his family have strong ties to the Republican party, he stresses that people and candidates from all political parties are welcomed in his restaurant, and he wants to sit and listen to everything they have to say.

"I'm sure some people stay away because of some perceptions of political leanings we may have, but we've gotten candidates from both sides of the aisle in here...because we are very fair."

"If someone is a Republican and he is unqualified and incompetent and he's running against a guy who is super qualified and has more conservative beliefs than mine, I'll support him. I try to keep an open mind when it comes to things."

"One thing I learned from my father is never stop learning and never stop taking advice."