Growing the business: Papapavlos expanding

May 30—Six years ago, Andy and Jennifer Pappas made plans to open a new 5,000-square-foot Papapavlos location at the corner or Lodi Avenue and School Street.

Plans didn’t work out, but another property at the corner of Lockeford and School streets became available, and the couple took advantage.

On Thursday, their dream of a full restaurant, bar and bistro in Lodi finally came true, as the couple invited friends and family to their 217 N. School St. location to celebrate with a ribbon cutting.

“After six years of planning we’re about three days away from getting the bulldozers over here,” Andy Pappas said. “Hopefully next week we’ll see a lot of dirt moved.”

The new 5,000-square-foot building will be built in the vacant lot directly west of the existing restaurant.

The new structure will include five banquet rooms, two of which will be large enough to split into four with built-in partitions.

It will also feature a large horseshoe bar that seats nearly 30 patrons in the very center, as well as 12 booths and six tables in the dining area.

Construction should take about 10 months, barring weather and delays in obtaining materials.

The existing 1,650-square-foot restaurant will be open during construction, and once the new building is complete and ready for business, a plaza with fire pits and outdoor seating will separate the two structures.

Once complete, Andy Pappas said he and his wife will be looking to hire as many as 50 new employees.

They also plan to sublease the current location to another business, which could possibly be a wine tasting room, specialty delicatessen, a breakfast and lunch cafe, or something similar.

Jennifer Pappas said the new location will be larger than the Lincoln Center location, but will still have the neutral earth and Mediterranean tones of the Stockon restaurant.

“We’re just putting a lot of time and effort into making it nice and classy, and a place that people are going to want to migrate to to do their events and parties and celebrations,” she said. “We think it’s a good addition to Lodi.”

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During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which took place on the current patio area, Lodi Chamber of Commerce CEO and president JP Doucette said Papapavlos was a unique restaurant that Lodi has come to love.

“I think probably everyone who is here today has probably had a special dinner or special evening at one of the Papapavlos restaurants,” he said. “They do everything so first class. We’re so fortunate to have them in our community. I’m really looking forward to the new space.”

Former Lodi City Councilman Doug Kuehne, now a field representative for Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon, said he is going to bring the assemblyman’s team to Papapavlos once it opens next year.

“I’m excited for what you’re doing,” he said. “I only live a couple blocks away from here, so I’m here frequently. I enjoy it immensely, I’ve seen the plans and I’m excited for you and glad to see the dream coming to fruition.”

Andy Pappas said a grand opening will be planned for the late spring or early summer of 2024, if everything goes well.

“We feel really excited,” he said. “If we start moving the dirt over here and see actual things moving, that’s when were really going to start celebrating. We’re close. we’re really close.”