MAY 2025 16 with Zaia Makou, Owner of Z’s Greek 4026 E. Indian School Road • zsgreek.com In the Kitchen W ith a lifetime (almost literally) of experience in the restaurant industry, Zaia Makou’s entrepreneurial spirit shaped his journey from childhood kitchen helper to the owner of one of Arcadia’s most well-known Greek eateries. From the bustle of daily operations to personal connections with customers, Makou is excited about what the future holds. Where are you from originally? My parents lived in Toronto before moving here, so I’ve worked with them in kitchens since I was a child. My first job was cutting potatoes and washing dishes. My family has been in the restaurant business for most of my life – from pubs, to bars, to restaurants... you name it. After Canada, we lived in Chicago for two years. My mom is an entrepreneur and is always looking for new opportunities to grow, but we got sick of the snow real fast. In 2001, we moved to Arizona and I worked in multiple jobs. My mom, dad and I officially opened Z’s Greek in 2007, and we just worked day by day to build the restaurant from scratch. I worked at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant for a year and got some experience there, but I’ve been in the business all my life. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Oh jeez – like every other kid, I had high expectations [ laughs ]. I wanted to be in sports, but everyone in my family is an entrepreneur. It was rare that someone went to school and got a degree, and that’s not to say we don’t have people in my family that have degrees, because we do, we have lawyers and doctors and yada, yada. On the flip side of that are the entrepreneurs who own businesses and restaurants. Did you attend culinary school? I didn’t attend culinary school, no. I learned by doing; it was all hands-on experiences. I feel like most restaurant owners hire people to do the culinary part, but you do find some who are owner/operators – they’re in the kitchen and running the restaurant, which is awesome. I’ve seen a few people do that and it’s amazing. That’s a lot of work. What does a day in the life of Zaia look like? Six a.m. I’m out the door, 6:30 I’m probably parked outside of Costco or Restaurant Depot waiting for them to open so I can pick up what needs picking up. I’m at the restaurant by 7:30 a.m. I stay at Z’s until around 7 p.m. Mentally I’m here 24/7, physically I’m here 10- 12 hours a day, three days a week. Sometimes more, depending on the day. What sets Z’s apart from other Greek eateries? Food is my number one priority; customer service is number two. We don’t provide robot customer service; we like to engage. We know their lives, we know their families. We’ve seen the kids grow from three years old to now they’re driving their own cars through the drive thru. Seeing that progress, and how families have supported us through the years, is an amazing feeling. I believe in consistency. Our crew is the backbone of the restaurant. I might be the face but if it wasn’t for the employees, who run this business, we wouldn’t be here. The moment a customer walks in, he’s engaged by the cashier and three feet away are the cooks. Within a six-foot vicinity, you’re engaged in the restaurant – we’re not corporate so if you wanted to go in the kitchen and say hi, you could do that [ laughs ]. That’s the kind of restaurant we are. We’re not the prettiest, but we take care of our people – the customers and the employees! How did you initially attract customers? When we first opened, we got a lot of diners who were in law enforcement – I have to shout out to the responders, police officers, firefighters and military! I think, when people started to see the police officers come in, we started to gain a following. Since I’ve been here, I’ve only had one flyer and that was in 2009. It came in one of those coupon packets you get in the mail. I think word of mouth is what keeps us so popular. Look at Tee Pee, they’ve been there since before I was born probably [ laughs ] and they’re still rockin’. What’s the most popular item on the menu? Oh, there’s so many things. The Greek salad with chicken is our number one seller, the gyro pita combo is the traditional meal and is also popular. I really like the chicken pita with the Greek salad. What’s your favorite part of the restaurant industry? The hustle and bustle! The ups and downs, the ‘hey, we forgot some tomatoes, can you get in your car and run and grab some?’ I get to help satisfy our customers and I get to come to work every day knowing that I have employees here supporting me. This business is helping to put food on their tables and that makes my day. It’s the most satisfying feeling ever. These are my family members; this place belongs to them too. On the flip side, what’s your least favorite part? The late-night calls. I have the perfect example – the other day, I was just getting out of my car to go to a festival, and I got a phone call, ‘we don’t have someone to cover for so and so.’ I got in my car to head to the Chef Rafi Saleem and Manager Stephanie Serritiello with Owner Zaia Makou.

17 MAY 2025 restaurant. You have to be prepared to stop, drop and roll at a moment’s notice. You cannot neglect situations like that. Internet’s down, credit card machine’s not working, the soda machine is freaking out… this is part of the gig. Any favorite stories from your time in the industry? Oh man, it’s hard to pinpoint just one or two. I once had a woman who must not have been familiar with Greek food but she asked me what kind of meat was in the chicken pita [ laughs ]. We’ve had break-ups in the restaurant – literally people walk in and end a relationship, get in their car and go through the drive thru to avoid their now exes. On the opposite side, I had customers meet here who ended up getting married. It was a busy day, I remember, and the guy asked if he could sit down at the woman’s table. He later called me from Missouri and said, ‘can you send me a couple t-shirts; we’re going to wear them to an event.’ I sent them the shirts and he sent a letter thanking us and letting us know that he married the girl he shared the table with that day. When you’re not working, what are you doing? [ Laughs ] Umm… thinking about work! I’m more of a homebody. I enjoy going out every once in a while, but I’m usually hanging out with family. I’m at a stage where I’m figuring out what my life is about and making sure my customers are satisfied. What is your favorite thing to cook? I enjoy anything off a grill, like skewers or steaks. Whenever we have a big presence of friends or family we’re always grilling. And yes, I have a massive family [ laughs ]. What is one item you can’t live without in your kitchen? If we run out of gyro or feta cheese, it’s hard for this operation to work. Those two things people who eat here require! Our cheese is imported from Greece, it’s really light and really popular. What’s next for Zaia Makou? I don’t know yet, we’re trying to figure that out. We’re adding more things and giving back to the customers. I like to improve slowly to add more life to our restaurant. What is your favorite part of Arcadia? It’s such a hip area. From Arcadia High to CLS, you can basically get everything you need. It’s a very family-oriented area which I love. One of the amazing things is that the people who live here support local businesses. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here. 888-545-9755 caretakerlandscape.com 741 N. Monterey St. Gilbert | AZ | 85233 TM