July 2022 saw the opening of Galazio Restaurant of Albion, a Greek and Mediterranean cuisine restaurant located north of downtown Superior Street in the building where Italian restaurant Gina’s Pizza and Deli once was. Gina’s closed in December of 2021.
Galazio, as a concept, is not novel in its implementation of Greek and Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant has a sister location in Maryland that has existed for 30 years prior to the opening of the Albion location.
Owner and operator of Galazio Restaurant of Albion, Sean Hare, describes his relationship and journey with Galazio.
“Iossif ‘Joe’ Gressis and his family opened the original location in La Plata, Maryland in 2002 naming the first location, ‘Ouzo’s Greek and Mediterranean Cuisine, where my wife Maggie worked for them as a server,” said Hare. “After a few years, Joe decided to drop the name and rebrand as ‘Galazio Restaurant.’”
“I began working for the company in late 2010 and worked my way through the rank from server, to line cook, to manager and eventually to general manager,” said Hare.
Hare also mentioned how the Galazio concept had come from Maryland all the way to Albion.
“After my wife’s parents moved to Albion a few years back, we began making frequent visits to see them. We fell in love with the ‘small town’ vibe that Albion promoted,” Hare said. “After the pandemic, my wife and I decided to take a chance and bring what we learned from Joe to a whole new part of the country.”
Part of Galazio’s heritage, aside from quality dining, is community involvement. Following a successful spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Marshall football team, Hare said he hopes Galazio can become an important part of the local community.
“Our hopes are to fulfill the needs of the town of Albion and Calhoun County as a whole. We also hope to partner with local organizations to feed the hungry this Thanksgiving,” Hare said.“Our sister restaurant down south does a great deal of wonderful events for their community and while we are not quite stable enough to provide everything they do, we hope to be one day.”
Future events hosted by Galazio for the college are in the works as well.
“We will also be doing theme nights such as ‘Seniors Night’ and ‘Albion College Night’ where students and faculty can get a certain percentage off their checks by verifying with the college,” said Hare.
Galazio’s number one priority, Hare said, is “Quality. Galazio at its core is all about having a quality dining experience, enjoying the best food, drinks, service and atmosphere.”
Leave a Reply