As Triangle restaurateur opens more dining destinations, he follows simple rule: 'respect the ingredient'

By Leoneda Inge,

Published December 18, 2024 at 10:00 AM EST

If you live in the Triangle and eat at local restaurants, you’ve likely indulged your palate at one of Giorgios Bakatsias’ cafes, bistros, or tavernas.

Giorgios’ restaurant empire dots the region’s culinary landscape, from Chapel Hill to Durham to Raleigh to Wake Forest, and in recent years even expanding out to Wilmington.

And after more than four decades in the business, the eatery entrepreneur does not seem inclined to slow his pace anytime soon. He talks with Leoneda Inge about his culinary journey from Greece to Durham.

Guest

Giorgios Bakatsias, Founder and Owner, Giorgios Hospitality Group

Tags

Due South Restaurants

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

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