Get to know the members of the Psalios family!

Yianni Psalios

Husband, father, patriarch
Local legend, master chef

�I make the rules, I break the rules.�
�Even when I�m 85 I�ll still have a restaurant, with three tables�one for myself and the others for my friends.�

Macho, opinionated, impulsive 54-year-old Yianni is the undisputed head of the Psalios family, and the final word in everything. His wife, kids and staff might roll their eyes, even pull out their hair, but they invariably follow his lead. He has earned their love and respect�and, after all, he�s Yianni.

Since arriving in Canada from Cyprus as a young man, Yianni has epitomized the brash, successful immigrant entrepreneur. In his glory days of the 1980s, he operated twin restaurants mere feet away from each other on Edmonton�s trendy Whyte Avenue. When Gretzky and company partied with the Stanley Cup in tow, Yianni was there, pouring the Ouzo.

These days, Yianni is as successful as ever, yet the restaurant business is taking its toll. It consumes and defines the lives of Yianni, his wife Kally, and their two adult children, Theo and Dina.

At this stage in life, an ordinary man might step back, relax a bit, and prepare for a well-deserved, prosperous retirement. But Yianni is no ordinary man. With two thriving businesses, and a family already half-crazed by overwork, Yianni is now opening a third restaurant.

As usual, everybody says he�s nuts. But nobody�s betting against him.

Kally Psalios

Wife, mother, manager
Running on empty

�Throughout all the years our staff has always been like a family. They like how we have fun � and Yianni and I, we give them a little freedom.�
�I don�t want to be like my mom for God�s sake�early 60s and still in the restaurant. I would kill myself.�

Yianni�s 41-year-old wife Kally is, in many ways, the glue that holds the family and the businesses together. She loves running the Koutouki Taverna, and she loves her husband. But she desperately yearns for some balance and sanity in her life. Barring that, she�d settle for a day off.

With Yianni opening a third restaurant, that�s not going to happen.

Like many great moms, Kally is a natural diplomat. She helps smooth relations between Yianni and the kids. She does her best to keep Yianni grounded, or to hang onto the kite string when his fancies uncontrollably take flight.

Still, she can�t maintain this pace forever. She�s tired, and she�s tired of being tired. Something�s gotta give.

Theo Psalios

Hunky single guy, blossoming head chef
Sick of living in dad�s shadow

�My dad sees himself as a patriarch. And in that position, what would you want to see? You want to see that empire that you�ve created get even bigger. Guess whose job that is?�
�People have been following my dad around for 25 years from restaurant to restaurant. I mean, the man is a legend. I�ve got to live up to that.�

At age 26, Theo is head chef and co-owner of his own flourishing restaurant, the Ouzeri. He�d be a dazzling success by any measurement�except that everyone measures him next to his dad.

As heir to the Psalios name, Theo works tirelessly to impress his father and to live up to his reputation. At the same time, he yearns to establish a reputation all his own. When he prepares one of his dad�s famous recipes, he always throws in a twist or two�even when he knows Yianni wouldn�t approve.

Theo has inherited more than just cooking skills. Like his dad, he has a big soft spot for his staff, his family, and his customers. If his life is going to revolve around the restaurant, he�s going to make it a place where everyone wants to be.

He has also inherited a healthy dose of his father�s pride and ambition. He dreams of stepping onto a worldwide stage, as celebrity host of his own cooking show.

Dina Psalios

Beautiful daughter, unwilling waitress
Wants new life as makeup artist to the stars

�I didn�t grow up with my parents ever around. And I don�t want that for my kids. I�m not saying I want to be the Brady Bunch but, come on, not the Addams Family!�
�I love (Chris) more than anything, and I don�t know if I�d give him up. But there�s so much more at stake if I don�t follow my dream.�

Dina spent her entire childhood around restaurants, and sometimes it seems like she�ll never escape. Now, at age 21, she waits tables five nights a week at the Taverna. She can�t wait to get out, for good.

She�s saving up to go to makeup school in L.A. From there, she hopes to build a career as a Hollywood makeup artist. The restaurant business, she vows, will be a distant memory.

If only it were that simple. Dina�s fianc�, Chris, is head chef at the Taverna. He loves his job, loves his life, and can�t picture himself doing anything else.

Dina knows that her family doesn�t take her ambitions seriously. She resents the fact that her father has set Theo up with his own restaurant, yet won�t do anything to help her with her own dream. She realizes that her plans for the future may prove completely incompatible with her plans to marry Chris.

Will Dina find the will and the way to change her own destiny?

Chris St. Denis

Head chef at the Taverna, devoted Greek-in-training
Loves Dina, but also loves the restaurant

�I love everything about my life right now. I love Dina, the restaurant, the family, their personalities. I love cooking.� �Choosing my career over Dina would be a very stupid thing to do, but I don�t want to move to LA.�

In Yianni�s eyes, 21-year-old Chris just might be the perfect candidate for son-in-law. He works tirelessly, he�s a talented cook, and he has a clear knack for the restaurant business. Sure, Chris might not be Greek, but he�s even doing his best in that department.

Chris has embraced the Psalios family, and they have embraced him back. He�s great friends with Theo and meshes seamlessly with his boss Kally at the Taverna. He sees Yianni as a father figure and a restaurant role model.

Chris also loves Dina deeply. He would never ask her to turn her back on her dreams but, deep down, he can�t see anything wrong with their life right now. If Dina has to become a makeup artist, couldn�t she find a way to do it closer to home?

Chris is always eager to please everyone and, so far, he�s done a great job. But, at some point, he�s going to have to make some hard choices.