Western Fruit Basket: Innovative American-Greek Fusion Food
A bowl of Pastitsio and a Greek Almond Wedding Cookie from Western Fruit Basket.
October 29, 2019
In the heart of downtown Akron, near the Akron Art Museum, there’s a 100-year-old Greek-American Fusion food restaurant run by a father and daughter duo.
Western Fruit Basket is located at 115 E Market St. and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Greg Megois, the owner of The Western Fruit Basket, was encouraged by his daughter, Melissa Miyiakis to purchase the restaurant just five years ago after hearing of the restaurant going up for sale from an old work colleague.
Greg Megois and his daughter Melissa Miyiakis, owners of Western Fruit Basket, stand in front of a mural done by a local artist in their dining area.
After improving fruit basket quality, they got deals with local events for catering downtown, such as Crafty Mart, Pechakucha, BigLove events, Akron Recording Company events, artist parties and Pugfest.
A long-time institution for Greek food and beautifully composed fruit baskets, Western Fruit Basket now offers a variety of Greek-American fusion food created by the pair.
Being the fourth Greek family to own the business, Megois and Miyakis were the ones to dial in on a tangible menu. The father and daughter came up with some great menu items that would appeal to everyone, including students.
Megois said he came up with their Popper-Gyro, a twist on a classic Greek gyro with cream cheese poppers inside. Then Miyakis designed the Crunchy Gyro, which includes mozzarella cheese, ranch Doritos and a choice of protein.
One of Western Fruit Basket’s Fruit Baskets sits atop the deli counter in the dining area.
Miyakis is the overall master-mind in the kitchen, coming up with many of the menu items and putting her spin on them.
“Melissa goes by smell, most cooks go by taste, but she just smells it and knows it’s right,” Megios said beaming with pride.
Through everything, they enjoy the day-to-day challenges they face, whether it’s catering events outside in the pouring rain or just showing up with platters to an event.
“I love meeting people. I love to see people excited,” Megios said.
Megios encourages everyone to give their place a try. Come in, smash a plate with him and yell “Oppa!”
The food will draw you in, but the sense of family will make you stay.
Katie Shuber is currently majoring in Media Studies with a minor in Psychology at The University of Akron.
Interested in several different activities such as learning American Sign Language and Korean to hiking trails in the Valley, she also enjoys listening to NPR Politics and the New York Times everyday. After graduating from UA, Katie hopes to one day be a journalist or news correspondent in New York or Chicago.
An Interesting Fact about Katie:
Working as a full time insurance agent outside...
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