From Crete to Penticton: The Story Behind the Table

January 29, 2026 Minas 4 Comments Our Story

There is a saying in Greece that a table is never just a table.

It is where stories are told, where families gather, where strangers become friends, and where no one ever leaves hungry.

At La Casa Ouzeria, that belief lives in every dish we serve. And it begins long before our doors first opened in 1996 — on the island of Crete, in the farming village of Panagia, where our family’s story truly began.

A Life Grown from the Land

Our parents, Anastassios AKA – Zaharia (Jack) and Zacharenia (Jackie), grew up in a very simple world. In their village in Crete, life revolved around the land. Olives and grapes were harvested by hand. Olive oil was pressed locally. Vegetables came straight from the garden. Chickens, sheep, goats, and rabbits were raised not for business — but for family.

Nothing fancy. Nothing wasted. Almost nothing bought from a store.

Meals were built around what the land provided, and Sundays were sacred — a day for meat, family, and a table full of food prepared for anyone who might arrive, invited or not. Hospitality was not a gesture. It was a way of life.

And long before La Casa Ouzeria had a menu, our mother learned to cook at her own mother’s side — rolling dolmades, preparing moussaka, baking bread in a wood-burning oven — learning that feeding people was a form of love.

Crossing an Ocean

In the late 1950s, our father, Anastassios, also known as Zaharia (Jack) — originally named Anastassios in Greece and later known as Jack — came to Canada to join his brothers and relatives in Penticton. He worked in mines. He worked in kitchens. He worked wherever he could to build a future.

In October 1974, he returned to Greece to marry our mother, Zacharenia (Jackie). A best friend introduced them — because he had married her sister. (In Greek families, these things have a way of working out.)

That December, our mother arrived in Penticton for the first time.

She cried.

There was snow everywhere. She had never seen snow before in her life.

She spent the first days sleeping, dreaming of going back to Greece.

But Penticton had something special — a strong Greek community. Slowly, the town became home. When the children came and started school, the languages crossed in the most beautiful way: we learned Greek, and our mother learned English.

What was meant to be a five-year stay turned into fifty.

Kitchens, Courage, and a Dream

Food was always at the center of our family. Both of our parents worked in restaurants. In 1987, they opened Uncle Jack’s Pizza at 532 Main Street in Penticton. That little pizza shop became our childhood — where we did homework in booths and learned what hard work really looked like.

In 1992, our grandmother (Yiayia) came to visit from Greece. She watched our parents cook and said something that would quietly change everything:

“Why don’t you open a Greek restaurant and serve the food you grew up with?”

In 1995, they sold Uncle Jack’s Pizza.

In the spring of 1996, La Casa Ouzeria was born — in a small space across from the Toyota dealership, in the old Olive Patch restaurant.

The first day, one table came in.

Thirty dollars.

That was it.

Our mother was terrified. They had invested everything they had. Our father, as always, was calm.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “When the other restaurants fill up, they’ll come here.”

And slowly… they did.

Building Something That Lasts

Nothing about La Casa Ouzeria happened overnight.

There were years of stress over cash flow. Long nights. Staffing struggles. Then, decades later, the heartbreak of closing our doors during COVID and serving our guests through takeout windows instead of across tables.

Even today, rising costs test us every week.

But there is one moment that never gets old.

When guests leave smiling.

When families celebrate anniversaries, first dates, birthdays, and reunions around our tables.

When our team finishes a long shift, looks at each other, and says, “We did it.”

That is when we remember why we started.

A Table That Feels Like Home

La Casa Ouzeria became a blend of everything we are.

Greek tradition. Italian comfort. Recipes from Crete. Sauces learned in Canadian kitchens. Hospitality passed down through generations.

Some dishes come straight from our parents’ hands — our father’s meat sauce, made from scratch the same way he did decades ago. Our mother’s dolmades, moussaka, lamb — recipes learned beside her own mother in Greece.

And always, always, the belief that no one should ever leave hungry.

Some guests tell us our portions are too big.

We just smile.

In a Greek household, you are never allowed to leave without eating.

More Than a Restaurant

Serving our family’s culture to Penticton is the greatest honor of our lives.

This community welcomed our parents when they arrived with snow in their shoes and hope in their pockets. Today, we are proud to welcome you — not just as guests, but as family.

When we think about the future, we don’t hope people remember us only for the food.

We hope they remember the moments.

The laughter.
The celebrations.
The memories made around the table.

And this is only the beginning of our story.

In the coming months, we’ll share more — about our childhood in the restaurant, about the recipes behind your favourite dishes, and about the people who make La Casa Ouzeria what it is today.

Until then, our table is always waiting.

Make a reservation by calling 250-492-9144 or click here to book online.

OPA!

— The Portalaki Family