A NEW FAMILY run business inspired by authentic recipes passed down through the generations has launched at the Five Valleys Shopping Centre.

Mr Souvlaki is the brandchild of Ilias Alexeas who has chosen the street food market at Five Valleys for his third store – with a focus on traditional but definitely not old-fashioned Greek dishes.

The business is inspired by Ilias’s grandfather Andreas Giannopoulos who founded a successful chain of street food outlets in America – his portrait adorns the company logo and his recipes and love of authentic Greek food have inspired the team.

The varied menu included Greek favourites including  souvlaki as well as yeeros, Greek salad, skewers, courgette balls, halloumi fries and Greek sandwiches.

(Image: Five Valleys Shopping Centre) The new Stroud store joins outlets in Banbury and Cheltenham.

Ilias is helped by his mother and his father who have passed on the family recipes with a focus on restaurant quality and authentic Greek street food. 

All ingredients, including the pitta bread and yoghurt are from Greece.

Engineer turned Chef, Ilias said: “I was really missing Greek food and that’s where the idea from Mr Souvlaki came from, I want to share those original recipes that my Grandfather prepared but with a modern twist – we want to compete with the best Greek restaurants for our flavours and authenticity.

“I always say that this is street food, it isn’t fast food.

"It’s really important that the quality is there and that’s one of the reasons I love the Stroud Five Valleys market – people value authentic and good quality food. It’s a great atmosphere and I’m really pleased to be growing the business here.”

Mr Souvlaki joined a street food and food market line up which includes Cuban, Mexican, Japanese and Thai food – as well as bakes, butchers and fishmonger, alongside the Armadeli delicatessen.  

Centre Manager at Five Valleys, Erica Malpass, said: “We are so pleased to welcome Ilias and his team to our market, Mr Souvlaki looks fantastic, and the food is great. We’re really lucky to have another great family business joining our line up of traders here in Stroud.

“We’re currently giving our seating area a bit of a facelift and creating more space for the growing number of diners that we have.

"So if you haven’t been for a while, do pop down and have a look.”