Life & Work with John King

Today, we’d like to introduce you to John King.

Hi John, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
Growing up in challenging circumstances, including living with family and friends and being financially independent without my parents, I learned early the effort needed to survive. I started working at 12 in a restaurant, where I discovered my passion for innovative cooking. My entrepreneurial spirit is inherited from my family, who, facing discrimination upon migrating from Greece, started their own businesses. My mentor, Chris Raptis, played a pivotal role in shaping my work ethic and leadership qualities, inspiring me to pursue my own venture despite being seen as a “hoodlum” by many. With Chris’s support, I launched Olympos Gyros at 21, introducing the world to “The Hades Sauce,” a unique spicy Tzatziki that became our signature. Our business has since expanded into catering and food trucks, serving the Southwestern PA region, South West OH, and parts of West Virginia, marking our presence in the food industry with innovation and resilience. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We have had to overcome many struggles! We had the pandemic in 2020; the business started coming out of the economic crisis in 2008-2009. We worked every day, six days a week, 12-hour days for the first 7 years! A 40-hour workweek is easy now! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Food is a form of art! I wanted to take something that has a long-standing tradition of being made a certain way (tzatziki sauce/Gyros) & turn it on its head by creating multiple flavors of tzatziki sauce, putting fries on a gyros, making interesting gyros, creating catering by a gyro shop. In a way, we changed the game with some gyro shops now attempting to copy our trademark spicy Hades sauce, including a national chain i won’t mention! 

What matters most to you?
Leaving a legacy my daughter can be proud of one day. Your parents shape who you are & leaving a proud legacy involves raising a child to become the best version of themselves.  

Contact Info:

• Website: www.olymposgyros.com
• Instagram: @olymposgyros_catering
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olymposgyros

Image Credits
@KashiaLeePhotography