A Father's Suggestion Spurs Family Restaurant, 'Green' Gas

Beaming with her hospitable Greek charisma, Labrine Voutsinas encourages a guest to try the steaming hot, homemade meatballs.

“We marinate them in marinara sauce, top them with cheese and put them in our meatball sub,” said Labrine. “They are one of our most popular requests.”

Moments later, Labrine's husband, Spiro Voutsinas, suggests that same guest sample the Souvlaki pita, which features chunks of slow-cooked and seasoned pork doused in jalapeno ranch sauce with tomatoes and onions.

The Voutsinases operate a grill on the causeway in Dunedin, but like the food on the menu, this is no ordinary dining establishment.

The is inside the gas station on the corner of Curlew Road and Bayshore Boulevard. The station and the market and grill opened in December 2010 after the Voutsinases closed in September to finish an extensive renovation of the property, which originally debuted as a Mobil gas station in the mid-1960s.

The building is not a cliche convenience store. It's done in a Key West theme, with bamboo bathroom sinks, and stained, marbleized concrete floors adorned with murals depicting nautical scenes.

Spiro acquired his first Mobil station on Island Estates at age 19 and operated it from 1976 until he purchased his the Caladesi Mobil location in 1983. At the time, it included a three-bay garage and a 200-square-foot convenience store.

“For years, my dad thought it would be a good idea if we renovated the property and added a small restaurant, but it wasn’t the right time because I was focused on the auto-related businesses,” said Spiro, who also still operates a towing business and an auto repair and body shop in the area.

Cooking and the restaurant business are in Voutsinas' blood. His father, the late James Voutsinas, owned a diner in Chicago, where Spiro worked as a short order cook. The Voutsinases were spurred to refurbish their property out of necessity. Fuel provides slim profit margins for gas station owners, thus the reason most stations also have convenience stores. A growing number also co-brand with fast food restaurants or donut shops, Spiro explained.

“We saw this as an opportunity to renovate the property, build a larger convenience store and add the restaurant my father envisioned,” he said.

The Voutsinases agreed that they didn’t want to open a cookie-cutter convenience store and gas station. They attended a national convention convenience and petroleum retailers, searching for ways to differentiate their place. The couple hired Melinda Hampshire, a Dunedin-based, certified green business consultant, who encouraged them to focus on an environmental niche. The result is Florida's first gas station to earn a “Green Business Certification.”

The business also earned Dunedin's 2011 Environmental Award.

Pumpside recycling bins are available so customers can clean out their cars or trucks while fueling. Eco-friendly landscaping and green spaces using reclaimed water are planted outside. At the market, recyclable paper cups have replaced plastic in the drink and coffee areas. The store offers reusable drink cups for refills and discounts on ice if customers reuse styrofoam coolers. “Re-Newal” Florida spring water bottled in 100 percent compostable plant-based containers with plant-based labels is sold alongside organic coffee and tea. Even the shelves, counters and walls are made of recycled materials.

The building that houses the market and grill features the latest energy conservation technology with upgraded insulation in the roof and walls and thermo glass and tint in the doors and windows. The interior display case and ceiling lighting was upgraded to cool, energy-efficient LED lighting. The exterior fueling area canopy lights were replaced with high-efficiency induction lights.

Food at the Bayshore Breeze Grill is made-to-order and the restaurant still plans to open a drive-thru. The menu has items that Spiro and Labrine enjoy. The Chicago Beef Sandwich, which features slow-cooked and marinated beef dipped in homemade au jus with Giardiniera peppers. It reflects Spiro’s Chicago heritage. The gyro, Souvlaki Pita, Pork Kabob and Greek Salad hint at the couple’s Greek roots.

Spiro said many Bayshore Breeze customers seem astonished when they enter the refurbished property, which last year at this time was an aging gas station, convenience store and garage.

“Some people say we are a grill that has a convenience store and a gas station,” Spiro said with a smile. “You know you have good food when people say that.”

Editor's note: This story originally ran Feb. 17, 2011. It was updated from its original version.