Zenon Taverna's Co-owner On Her 'Emotional' Decision To Close

ASTORIA, QUEENS — At the end of Nov., Astoria's Zenon Taverna suddenly announced that it was permanently closing its doors after more than three decades of business.

News of the beloved Greek-Cypriot restaurant's shutdown devastated patrons, many of whom frequented the eatery at its 31st Avenue storefront in Astoria.

Closing the restaurant, however, also came with a "heavy heart" for co-owner Elena Ioannidis, whose father first opened the taverna after immigrating to NYC from Cyprus.

"The decision to close was very emotional since we have had the business for so long," Ioannidis told Patch in a written statement.

While Zenon Taverna's initial closing statement was brief — a single Instagram frame, followed up with some follow-up comments — Ioannidis went into more detail about the restaurant's closure, and what comes next for her family, in response to questions from Patch.

A difficult two years

The reason for shutting down Zenon Taverna wasn't cited in the eatery's final post, though the restaurant mentioned in the comments that the pandemic took a toll on its business.

Ioannidis said that there were in fact "many reasons" for closing, but the "tipping point" was the "difficulties of the last almost two years" amid the pandemic.

Her family chose to not explicitly state this in the restaurant's closing post, Ioannidis said, because they didn't want to make light of the loss people have suffered during the pandemic.

"So many people lost their lives to this pandemic and we did not feel closing a business could even come close to the loss of life," she wrote to Patch. "We do not want to take away or disrespect those whose lives were lost by referencing this in our post."

The eatery's business troubles weren't a secret, though, she said, noting that she responded to people who commented or sent private messages asking about why Zenon Taverna was closing.

The restaurant has alluded to pandemic-related business issues in the past, too. In March, Zenon Taverna joined a local delivery platform as a more cost-effective alternative to third-party delivery companies, Eater reported, and in July co-owner Harry Ioannidis told NY1 that the restaurant was severely short staffed.

Maintaining a family owned business

Closing Zenon Taverna isn't only the end of a restaurant, but also the end of a family business, which Ioannidis had been helping to preserve.

"I was running the restaurant for over 10 years with my father until about five years ago when we both stepped back from an active day to day role and my husband Harry took over," she wrote.

When asked if she considered handing the restaurant off to another family member, instead of closing, Ioannidis countered the the restaurant continued to be a full-family operation until its last day.

Everyone — including Ioannidis' mother, father, sisters, kids, and nieces — stayed involved in the restaurant's operation, while her husband managed the day-to-day she said. "Until our last day we were all there serving our customers."

The future

Ioannidis told Patch that she doesn't have any plans for Zenon Taverna's building — and isn't in a rush to figure it out, either.

Instead, she's taking the weeks after the restaurant's closure as a chance to be with family.

"In our business we always worked holidays and did not have a chance to spend them with our family," she said.

"I feel if we learned anything since last year it's that life can be unpredictable and we should cherish the moments we have with each other while we can."

Related Article: Astoria's Zenon Taverna Closes, Citing Pandemic-Related Struggles