Socrates told Dayton.com he is from the Dayton area and was looking for a reason to return after living in North Carolina.
“My brother went on the broker listings and found a listing for an established family dining restaurant and sent it to me and I inquired about it and that’s how this all started,” Socrates said.
Prior to purchasing the restaurant, Socrates was the director of operations for 52 Wendy’s in North Carolina. McFarland owned a cleaning business but had experience working in the restaurant industry.
“We came back specifically to Ohio because of George’s,” McFarland said. “We fell in love with George’s and decided to buy it.”
Socrates said what really made them seal the deal was meeting the former owners, Dino Dimitrouleas and his significant other, Elesha Snyder. He explained they didn’t talk about the sales and financials. Instead, they focused on the restaurant’s values and what needed to be maintained and preserved.
Socrates and McFarland became owners on Aug. 26 and have enjoyed meeting their customers and getting to know them as friends.
“Diners are really big in communities, and we wanted to be immediately part of the community,” Socrates said.
“It really is a family in here,” McFarland added. “Whether they’re blood or not, these employees, even the customers, they bind together, so I think being adopted by them and being accepted into George’s (is) what I’m looking forward to and I’m really excited about that.”
At the end of August, the former owners wrote a Facebook post to their customers about them selling the restaurant.
“Don’t worry, nothing is changing,” the former owners said in a post. “We will still have the same great name, same great recipes, same great staff and same great service that you all know and love. We are very confident that it’s in good hands with the new owners, Steve and Sam.”
They added it had been a pleasure getting to know their customers over the last nearly 20 years and they look forward to having more time to cultivate those friendships.
“As for the two of us…We’re not going anywhere. We will be sticking around for a lengthy training process to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. But, after that… we can’t wait to join all of you as regulars,” the post said.
The new owners confirmed that nothing is changing at the restaurant overall. However, Socrates said he would like to offer a better online experience with mobile ordering.
“We just want to preserve the All-American diner that it is,” Socrates said.
For more information about George’s Family Restaurant, visit www.georgesdayton.com or the restaurant’s Facebook page.
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