{"id":2354424,"date":"2026-04-01T16:21:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2354424"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:21:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:21:40","slug":"greekend-brings-a-traditional-greek-experience-to-greeley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/greekend-brings-a-traditional-greek-experience-to-greeley\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Greekend’ brings a traditional Greek experience to Greeley"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As Greek music plays from a speaker in the corner, Achilles Bardos makes his way out from the back room of The Bakery at Roasty\u2019s Diner, dancing and shaking a tambourine.<\/p>\n

His wife, Olga, and a patron join in as Bardos jokes with the rest of the crowd to stand up and get moving.<\/p>\n

Bardos, a Greek native, is obviously in his element when speaking about his home country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud of the place, the people, the culture,\u201d Bardos said. \u201cEverybody knows about Greece to some degree, but they don\u2019t always see that this little place on earth has created all this. It created democracy. It has created so many philosophers, engineers, architects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dinner guests enjoy drinks and a three course dinner at a Greekend dinner event at The Bakery in Greeley on Friday, March 27, 2026. (Brice Tucker\/Staff Photographer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That passion for his culture and his drive to teach others about it led Bardos \u2014 who taught school psychology for 35 years at the University of Northern Colorado \u2014 to start \u201cGreekend.\u201d The twice-monthly celebration of Greece involves food, conversation and a heavy dose of culture.<\/p>\n

Bardos bought Roasty\u2019s Diner, 920 8th Ave., in 2022 and turned the accompanying bar into a bakery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe invite people to simulate the atmosphere of a Greek taverna \u2014 where families and friends get together,\u201d Bardos said. \u201cSometimes you may know the person next to you, sometimes you may not. But life is celebrated with food and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

A taverna is a small, casual restaurant that specializes in home-cooked Greek cuisine.<\/p>\n

\"A
A first course plate of Dolma, rice and spices wrapped in a grape leaf, Tiropita, cheese pie triangles and falafel with tzatziki sauce are seen during a Greekend dinner event at The Bakery in Greeley on Friday, March 27, 2026. (Brice Tucker\/Staff Photographer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last Friday\u2019s Greekend started with just that: dolma (rice and spices wrapped in a grape leaf), tiropita (a cheese pie triangle) and falafel with tzatziki (a creamy yogurt, cucumber and garlic sauce).<\/p>\n

Once most of the appetizer plates were cleared, Bardos came around with a tray full of Ouzo shots.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s best to wait until after eating something, so \u201cit doesn\u2019t go straight to your veins,\u201d Bardos said as he passed out the licorice-flavored spirit.<\/p>\n

Next came the main course: lemon-baked chicken and potatoes.<\/p>\n

\"Baked
Baked lemon chicken and potatoes with a side of Greek salad are seen during a Greekend dinner event at The Bakery in Greeley on Friday, March 27, 2026. (Brice Tucker\/Staff Photographer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was my mom\u2019s favorite dish,\u201d Bardos said. \u201cWhen I was going back home she used to prepare it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The night closed out with revani \u2014 a sweet, soaked orange cake \u2014 for dessert.<\/p>\n

Bardos discloses the main course when people sign up for a Greekend, but the rest of the menu typically remains a surprise until attendees sit down on Friday nights. That\u2019s done partially to maintain some mystery, and partially because the food often depends on \u201cwhat mood we might have this week,\u201d Bardos said.<\/p>\n

But the night out isn\u2019t just about food. Half of that taverna atmosphere that Bardos is trying to recreate comes from the people and the environment.<\/p>\n

Along with the tambourine and dancing, Friday\u2019s Greekend \u2014 the 26th iteration \u2014 featured a raffle of a few different prizes (all of which included olive oil), though Bardos did warn attendees to \u201calways beware of Greeks bringing gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each Greekend is a different experience. The March 13 iteration included a dance lesson from Bardos, and the Feb. 27 edition featured a short film projected on the wall after sliding the majority of the dining tables to the side.<\/p>\n

One couple in attendance Friday was new to Greekend, but not at all new to Bardos or the Greek experience.<\/p>\n

\"Greekend
Greekend host Achilles Bardos toasts with shots of ouzo with married couple, Caren Hofbauer, left and Chris Hofbauer, right, during a Greekend dinner event at The Bakery in Greeley on Friday, March 27, 2026. The Hofbauers, who always wanted to take a vacation to Greece, chose to plan their honeymoon to Greece after attending Greekend and getting advice on their trip from Bardos. (Brice Tucker\/Staff Photographer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris and Caren Hoffbauer, newly wed and freshly honeymooned, came into Roasty\u2019s one day after already deciding to honeymoon in Greece. Noticing the Greek decor around the cafe and accompanying bakery, the couple learned quickly that they needed to talk to Bardos about their upcoming vacation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe probably spent an hour with us that morning,\u201d Caren said. \u201cHe told us all the stuff to do. What months to go. Where the locals go, not where the tourists go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe based a lot of it on that,\u201d Chris added. \u201cAnd it worked out perfectly, because it was no stress, it was fun, it was relaxing. We just had a blast.\u201d<\/p>\n

And though it\u2019s hard to capture the essence of Greece, they said, Bardos does a pretty good job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe event he\u2019s putting on here is what they do in Greece,\u201d Chris said. \u201cThey want you to hang around. They want you to be there. And they just want everybody to be together having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because as Bardos says: \u201cWe can\u2019t take you to Greece. But we\u2019ll bring you back the memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greekend<\/h3>\n

Greekend runs from 6-8 p.m. every other Friday at Roasty\u2019s Diner and The Bakery, with plans to hopefully start hosting them weekly. The next iteration is April 10.<\/p>\n

The spirit of Greekends has made its way into Roasty\u2019s, with traditional Greek food finding its way onto the menu from time to time.<\/p>\n

Bardos hopes eventually there will be enough demand that he can expand the event to Thursday-Saturday of every weekend and operate it more like a traditional restaurant, with an open menu and no reservations needed.<\/p>\n

To reserve a spot at an upcoming Greekend event, call Roasty\u2019s at 970-356-2806 or stop in from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. The cost to attend is $40.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.greeleytribune.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Greek music plays from a speaker in the corner, Achilles Bardos makes his way out from the back room of The Bakery at Roasty\u2019s Diner, dancing and shaking a tambourine. His wife, Olga, and a patron join in as Bardos jokes with the rest of the crowd to stand up and get moving. Bardos, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2354425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[21796,23803,21741,308548,379734,308544,22764,21738,349775,22482,327678],"class_list":["post-2354424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-business","tag-colorado","tag-entertainment","tag-front-range","tag-greeley","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-restaurants-food-and-drink","tag-things-to-do","tag-weld-county"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Greekend-brings-a-traditional-Greek-experience-to-Greeley.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2354424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2354424"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2354424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2354426,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2354424\/revisions\/2354426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2354425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2354424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2354424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2354424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}