Greek Festival favorites available at new spring drive-thru event

But every year the food that is so very special are the meals cooked up at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s Greek Festival in September.

Like so many restaurants, bars and other groups, organizers were forced to reinvent what the festival would be and they produced a food drive-thru event. That was so successful they built upon it with a drive-thru holiday market and now they have announced a Spring Mini Greek Fest.

“Our first drive-thru festival this past September went very well. Overall, we set out to do about one third of our normal festival food business by pre-order and online order only. We met the goal and learned much during the process,” said Deb Pulos, PR and marketing committee chair who has been a volunteer with the festival for over 30 years. “We processed about 2,300 orders over the weekend this past September. Our festival is a big part of our operating budget. Because of a reduced festival and COVID, we have had to make budget cuts in our operation.”

Pulos says approximately 20,000 gyros, 15,000 salads and 11,000 pieces of baklava are sold over a three-day period during a normal calendar year. The pastry selection includes nearly 50,000 pieces, which sell out by the end of the festival. In comparison, the fall drive-through Greek Fest Express sold about 4,500 gyros, 1,400 salads, 3,800 pieces of baklava and about 20,000 pieces of pastries.

The church and its volunteers are hoping this spring addition can help make up for lost revenue.

“The holiday market processed over 400 orders in a seven-hour span, all pre-order. It was the success of this holiday market and the drive-thru festival that helped us realize that we can still offer a way for people to experience our Greek food during the pandemic,” said Pulos. “The new gyro feature for this sale is the traditional beef or chicken gyro topped with onion, tomatoes and tzatziki, but we have added a flair of feta cheese and fries tucked in your gyro to make it even more amazing.”

Online ordering will be open through March 26. All orders must be pre-paid and placed online by credit card. Pick-up via drive-thru will take place Saturday, April 10, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Dayton Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.

Chicken gyros and Traditional gyros ($8 each) will be available with the option of adding the aforementioned fries for an additional $2 to the sandwich. A veggie gyro ($7) will also be available.

Spanakopita (spinach and feta pies, 4 for $12) and tiropita (an all-cheese version) both will be available for order hot or you can buy a tray of either with 24 pieces for $48.

Greek salads ($4 for small, $8 for large or $13 for a large with chicken), as well as a 1-pound container of orzo salad made with tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, Greek dressing and topped with Kalamata olives ($7), and a 1-pound container of traditional hummus sold with pitas made by Father Joseph Gingrich ($10) will be available for purchase to complement your sandwich.

But for many of us, the real complement is the desserts.

A variety box of Greek pastries is available for $15 and features one baklava (chopped walnuts and cinnamon sugar between layers of phyllo dough drenched in honey syrup, one pasta flora (strawberry preserves tucked in a flaky shortbread tart, one karithopita (walnut cake with syrup), one diples (thin sheet-like dough dipped in honey syrup, dusted with walnuts and cinnamon) and four koulouria (buttery twisted shortbread cookie.)

Should you want more of one and less of another they are also available for purchase individually in various quantities — koulouria (6 for $3), baklava (2 for $6), diples ($2), karithopita (2 for $6) and pasta flora ($3).

“(Greek food) is the feeling of home. It’s hearty, so flavorful and so very unique. Of course the Mediterranean flair just begs you to go sample everything and feel as if you are in Greece. Honestly, the food is just like you would find in Greece,” said Pulos. “Our honey is fresh and so is our olive oil; just in time for our sale. We know our community needs to get out and possibly find a cozy picnic spot. We want to provide you an ethnic meal with a flair of pastries which are not like anything you can find in Dayton.”

According to Pulos, two parish members — Christina Panagouleas-Stephens and Maria Karras-Powers — have spearheaded this tasty spring fling for the church with the goal of not only making up for some lost revenue, but also to bring people together.

“Our festival is a good portion of our operating budget. However, That is not the only reason we want to continue this tradition and are evolving and adapting to things. Our parishioners and friends want to be involved in our church community. We miss each other and we miss our church. This is one way we can work together, safely, to bring something good, warm and positive to the people of Dayton,” said Pulos.

Just one more reason why I’m marking my calendar for April 10.

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HOW TO ORDER

What: Spring Mini Greek Fest drive-thru event

Where: Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 500 Belmonte Park N., Dayton

When: They will be taking food orders now through March 26 at www.daytongreekfestival.com. Pick up is Saturday, April 10.