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I recently sat down with Georgia of Georgia Roussos Catering and asked her about branching out from the family tree.  The Roussos family has a long tradition of serving Grecian style seafood, salads, and good ole’ southern comfort food to folks on the Gulf Coast. She’s carrying on the traditional great service, attention to detail, and ambrosial food with a welcoming smile! Her menu reads like a wish-list of last meals on a deserted island with items like pecan crusted chicken breast, smothered pork chops, seafood gumbo and rice, and Roussos famous corned beef to name a few.

Her parents’ original restaurant was located on the causeway on Mobile Bay. Georgia fondly recounted how her dad opened his first restaurant in 1974 after being fired from The Sea Ranch Restaurant, which was also on the causeway. Roussos Seafood Restaurant opened across the street from her dad’s old job and had a line out the door from the very first day!  Unfortunately, Hurricane Frederick demolished the building in 1979, and they relocated to downtown Mobile where they stayed for 23 years.  Georgia’s father, George, passed away in 2000.  In 2009, her oldest brother retired, and they moved the restaurant to Daphne, AL.

Then in 2010, she and her other brother parted and both of them now have their own catering companies. When asked what her motivating factors were to begin her own company, Georgia said that catering is like putting on a party for someone else! She caters to both large and small groups, VIP events like the Senior Bowl, or the bride-to-be.   Georgia strives for perfection to detail.  For instance, she’ll not only plan for the wedding guests’ meals, but for the table settings, and champagne toast. I shared with her the fact that the caterer for my wedding told us we had ordered too much food, which led us to reduce our order, leaving guests waiting while we had to order more food on the spot!

Georgia Roussos Catering has the benefit of having a team with years of experience of working together: Chef Emmanuel Theris has worked for Roussos since 1998 and caterer Mary Myers has worked for the Roussos since 1974.  Georgia considers Mary like a sister; the two instinctively know how to work around the kitchen or room without getting in each others way.  She also has her mother, Zenia’s help, not in the kitchen, but as a primary stockholder! Additionally, she’s very thankful for her husband’s support.

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When asked if anything funny happened to her when she first got started, she shared her nervousness preparing food for 6,000 people all day at the Senior Bowl. She called their marketing manager to pitch her proposal.  He accepted since he was already familiar with her family’s service.  Georgia was thrilled but also a nervous wreck. Everything went off without a hitch. Afterwards when she spoke with the marketing manager, he admitted that he was very nervous, too, about her ability to pull off such a big corporate gig! Since then Georgia Roussos Catering has been growing by word-of-mouth, literally from the taste buds of her clients.

Your Blogger,

Sandra Rogers

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