J-K’s Greek Cafe has been part of La Mesa for 40 years. Its latest owners, Liza Tsolirides and Brooke Saunders, are staying true to its roots — while also staying true to themselves.
The names may be the same, but the recipes, ingredients and cooking methods transformed.
Half chickens sell out daily, according to owners Saunders and Tsolirides. (Photo by Drew Sitton/Times of San Diego)The pair have served up Greek classics like gyros and spanakopita since reopening in August. The hardworking pair make the dishes from scratch based on Tsolirides’ family recipes using the freshest ingredients — no microwaved meat or canned goods to be found.
The highly-flavorful meals feature oregano that Tsolirides’ mom brings in a child-size suitcase from Greece twice a year.
Some customers left from sticker shock — fresh ingredients cost more, after all — but by and large regulars are happy for the refreshed dining experience.
True to Greek food philosophy
A gyro plate and Greek salad in a takeout container at J-K’s Greek Cafe. (Photo by Drew Sitton/Times of San Diego)The two do want to educate their customers on authentic Greek dining though, which is seasonal, regional, and ultra fresh.
“The Mediterranean diet is so popular,” Tsolirides said. “Yes, of course, it’s that you’re getting good food and you’re eating good olive oils. But people eat locally. They’re eating food that is seasonal and that is local to their region.”
Avgolemono soup is permanently on the menu. (Photo by Maritsa Lopez/J-K’s Greek Cafe)Greek American menus feature hearty winter dishes like moussaka year-round. Not so in Greece, or at J-K’s, if the two can convince customers to try lighter fare.
“Real Greek food is ever changing, and it’s a lot more fresh than I think people recognize,” she added.
At the same time, Saunders especially is not opposed to eschewing tradition to create something entirely new. Experimenting in the kitchen is what made the pair want to open a restaurant in the first place.
“It’s not just gonna be chicken souvlaki and gyros and the classic Greek stuff, day in and day out. This isn’t what we’re about. We want to feel inspired and passionate,” Tsolirides said. “We didn’t buy a restaurant just to buy ourselves a job to be line cooks. We want to create.”
A decade of dreams
Brooke Saunders, left, and Lisa Tsolirides inside the refurbished J-K’s Greek Cafe, that does include some historic artifacts from its 40-year history, like the original painted sign once on a lamppost outside. (Photo by Drew Sitton/Times of San Diego)Saunders, of Texas, and Tsolirides, of Boston, have known each other for a decade, and they had always tossed around ideas for cafes, food trucks and restaurants.
Occasionally, Tsolirides checked commercial real estate marketplace LoopNet, scrolling through options.
In 2025, she came across a Greek cafe going for a steal, or so she thought. In retrospect, they would have saved money leasing a place without as much remodeling needed.
The decision to buy the cafe did not come without complications. The pair had broken up a month prior and Saunders was staying in the spare bedroom.
“This place came up, and we kind of were like, ‘Are we crazy?’ But we keep talking about it, so let’s see,” Tsolirides recalled.
Saunders called her brother after the breakup amid the decision of whether to buy the cafe. He suggested “‘maybe this is what y’all are supposed to be doing together.’” A romantic relationship hadn’t worked, but perhaps they were brought together for a different purpose.
“We were not-dating more than we were dating, so we were talking about these cafes and dreams and food trucks when we weren’t dating too,” Saunders said.
A year later, starting the restaurant has been the hardest and scariest thing they’ve ever done, but also feels right for where they are in their lives.
Their intertwined past can be a boon and a burden. It’s easy to snap at someone when you know their weak points, but that deep knowing also means they trust each other’s work ethic.
“There’s deeper threads that go into working with someone that you dated off and on for almost a decade,” Tsolirides said. Now she describes their relationship as sisterly – not that either of them know what that looks like, with only brothers to speak of.
Brooke Saunders grills gyro meat with a view of University Avenue behind her. (Photo by Drew Sitton/Times of San Diego)The pair overflows with ideas for more menu items to co-create and even more eateries. But for now, the goal is to find time to execute said ideas.
“The goal is just us to get to a point where we’re not necessarily here all the time, but (when) we’re here, we’re able to be more creative and we’re not just treading water,” Saunders said.
While the grind of running the restaurant means new menu items are slow to develop, the ones that have, like an inventive shrimp gyro based on Baja’s fish taco, gained a devoted following.
True to themselves
But beyond the food itself, the two are also openly queer and unwilling to hide their values.
In a partnership with Sister’s Pizza, they sold “no ice please” shirts with proceeds benefitting a local immigration law firm offering pro bono services. Instead of turning customers off, they had their busiest week ever.
“It’s definitely something that I struggled with… There’s no wishy-washy in terms of where we stand anymore,” Tsolirides said. “We stayed true to ourselves and it mattered.”
Being themselves is one of the reasons they purchased the cafe.
Tsolirides had spent two decades waiting tables and tending bar, putting on a fake face and fake voice to greet customers. Saunders, meanwhile, worked almost every position in the service industry, including chopping vegetables while on a train across Alaska.
“Neither one of us felt like we wanted to be working for other people forever,” Tsolirides said.
They are too bullheaded not to make their own way, she said. And while that bullheadedness made a romantic relationship between them impossible, it also meant they could do the hardest and scariest thing they’d ever done by resurrecting a fixer-upper restaurant into a foodie destination.
Saunders and Tsolirides uncovered tchotchkes in storage that now decorate the cafe, alongside original signage. (Photo by Drew Sitton/Times of San Diego)Hence then, the article about j k s greek cafe s new owners stay true to themselves and to greek food philosophy was published today ( ) and is available on Times of San Diego ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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