Correction: An earlier version of this obituary misstated when Olga's Kitchen was sold. It was in 1976. It began with a doubting husband, a blanching secretary and a single souvlaki machine. A decade later, it was a beloved Metro Detroit icon that spread across the U.S. with 56 Mediterranean-style restaurants from Maryland to California. That’s the story of Olga’s Kitchen and its founder, Olga Loizon, an immigrant’s daughter whose feats as a female entrepreneur were years ahead of her time. The tale ended Monday with the death of the irrepressible Mrs. Loizon of Birmingham. Surrounded by family, she died from natural causes at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. She was 92. The death was announced by TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, which bought the company in 2015. The legacy of the Detroit native lives on in the stories that family and friends recount about her. Like how she got the idea for the restaurant from a trip to Greece, how she was the first woman to obtain a business loan from her local bank, and how she continued to make appearances in the restaurants as recently as last year. "Her passion for her work and Olga's kitchen was unmatched, marketing for the brand at every turn," said a son, Bill Loizon. But the best stories were about the eatery’s origin in 1970. Her husband, John, a successful architect, was opposed to the idea, arguing against it until late in the night, said relatives. When she approached the Continental Market in Birmingham about leasing space for her first shop, the market owner’s secretary said it was a terrible idea, that no one would buy that type of food. Nearly half a century later, Mrs. Loizon was still miffed while being interviewed by The Detroit News for a story in 2014. “I turned and looked at her and said, ‘I don’t know who you are, and right now I don’t care who you are, I’m going to be a success,” she said. And she kept her word. Not that it was easy. The early days were a lot of work and a lot of tears, she told the newspaper. The space she rented from Continental Market was 11-by-10 feet, she said. She and Bill were practically on top of each other. “When my son would be cutting the meat, I’d be sitting there rolling the dough and we’d be bumping fannies,” she said. Her sandwiches featured broiled beef and lamb meat, a blend of three cheeses, garlic and cayenne pepper power wrapped in flat bread and smothered with tangy greek yogurt. What made them even more special were the secret ingredients she used in the making of the freshly baked gyro bread. In 1976, she was bought out by a group of investors who had tasted the sandwiches at a catered party and were immediately smitten. The new owners began spreading the restaurants across Metro Detroit. The chain struggled outside Metro Detroit and 26 restaurants remain today, all but one in Michigan, said the company. Mark Schostak, executive chairman of the Livonia-based TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, said Mrs. Loizon's trademark was to leave everything she touched wrapped in love, from her sandwiches to meeting customers. "While she will be dearly missed, her legacy will forever live on with Olga's kitchen," said Schostak. Funeral arrangements were pending. In addition to her husband and son, Mrs. Loizon is survived by another son, Ernest Loizon; and a daughter, Emily Kontos.<doc-sep>Olga Loizon, who opened a small Greek sandwich shop in 1970 that grew to become the popular restaurant chain Olga's Kitchen, known by generations of metro Detroiters, has died at age 92. The Birmingham resident died Monday at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, a restaurant spokesperson said. Best known for its unique pita bread sandwiches, spinach pies and curly fries, Olga's Kitchen had more than 50 sit-down restaurants at its peak in the 1980s — many inside shopping malls — with franchise locations as far as New York City, Clearwater, Florida, and Austin, Texas. Loizon, a Detroit native, started the business in Birmingham and, after selling her ownership stake in the mid-1970s, continued to have roles in the growing enterprise and made regular appearances at Olga's Kitchen restaurants well into her twilight years, greeting customers and taste-testing dishes in her namesake kitchens. In time, Olga's Kitchen achieved a level of affinity comparable to other beloved metro Detroit brands such as Vernors, Faygo, Sanders and Better Made. Yet the restaurant chain never really caught on out of state. The company downsized in the 1990s and refocused on its home market in Michigan. It faced new struggles in the 2000s as its once-busy mall locations lost foot traffic amid the retail industry's upheavals. Olga's Kitchen was bought out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2015 by TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, and regained its financial footing. Today, there are 26 locations, all but one in Michigan. "She really was a pioneer of her age," said Loredana Gianino, marketing manager for Olga's Kitchen and TEAM Schostak. "She went through so many obstacles and did things that were completely bucking the trend of what a woman of that time should be doing." Greek inspiration Loizon's inspiration came during a 1960s trip to Greece, the birthplace of her parents, where she so enjoyed the Greek souvlaki sandwiches that she paid $300 for a vertical broiler that she had shipped to Michigan. She then spent several years experimenting in her Birmingham home with recipes for what became Olga's Kitchen pita bread. It was in her Birmingham home that Loizon created the original Olga's sandwich of seasoned lamb and beef, smothered with tangy "Olgasauce," topped with tomatoes and sweet onions, and wrapped in a signature pita-like bread. She opened her first sandwich shop, originally called Olga's Souvlaki, in a small 11-by-10-foot space inside what was then the Continental Market in Birmingham. "The place was so small we couldn't even make the bread there," Loizon said in 1984. "I had to make it at home and drive it in. I can say that now, but it was all a bit secret then." Loizon recalled in an interview with Crain's Detroit how she was the first woman to obtain a business loan from her local bank, Detroit Bank and Trust, which she used to open that shop. Word spread about Loizon's unique sandwiches and Olga's shop developed a cult following, attracting lines of customers. In 1975, Loizon sold the Olga's concept to a group of private investors. The business was rebranded as Olga's Kitchen and began expanding across the state, to Fairlane mall, Lakeside Mall and later Ann Arbor and Lansing. "The Olgas are without a doubt the most exciting idea in eating the sandwich," read one 1970s advertisement Loizon kept an active presence in her restaurants, approving menu items and visiting various Olga's Kitchens several times a week. She made regular appearances as late as last year. "She would walk in and say hello to everybody and ask 'How was your meal? How did you like my Olga bread?,' " Gianino recalled. “She wanted to make sure that everyone was enjoying everything.” The investor-owners set a national vision for Olga's and tried to expand well beyond Michigan. A two-story Olga's Kitchen opened in Manhattan in 1986 with visions at the time for as many as 40 more Olga's in the New York area. But the brand never resonated in outside markets to the degree it had in Michigan In 2015, after several years of losses under then-owner Robert Solomon of Palm Springs, California, Olga's Kitchen declared bankruptcy. The business was later purchased by Livonia-based TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, which returned the chain to profitability by closing money-losing mall locations, opening new locations and bringing back classic recipes for popular Olga's dishes. “Olga Loizon was a Detroit original whose trademark was to leave everything she touched wrapped in love — from creating her Original Olga and meeting with our loyal guests, to caring for her family and supporting her community,” Mark Schostak, executive chairman of TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants, said in a statement. Born in Detroit Loizon was born Olga Patrick in Detroit and brought up in Hazel Park. In 1947, she married John Loizon, who survives her. She was preceded in death by her parents and two siblings, Alexandra Zoyes and Costa Patrick. She is also survived by three children, Emily Kontos, Bill Loizon and Ernest Loizon and two grandchildren. TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants has launched the Olga Loizon Memorial Foundation, which is aimed at providing financial assistance to Michigan’s aspiring female entrepreneurs. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Olga Loizon Memorial Foundation and sent to TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants headquarters at 17800 Laurel Park Drive North, Ste. 200C, Livonia, MI 48152.<doc-sep>Olga Loizon, the trailblazing founder of one of metro Detroit’s most beloved restaurant chains Olga’s Kitchen, died Monday, January 21, according to a release. She was 92. The daughter of Greek immigrants and a tenacious entrepreneur, Loizon got her start selling souvlaki from a stand in her driveway, she told Crain’s in December. Soon she was looking to level up to a full blown restaurant. Loizon was the first woman to secure a business loan from her local bank and used the funds to opened the original restaurant called Olga’s Souvlaki in a small, 10 foot-by-10-foot space in Birmingham, Michigan, in 1970. Six years later, she sold the brand to private investors but remained a fixture in the business. Over the years, the Olga’s Kitchen chain became a memorable spot frequented by metro Detroiters who loved its pita sandwiches, curly fries, and Snackers. Many customers recalled those memories as news of her death spread on Monday evening. From the 1990s and on into the present decade, the brand struggled to find its niche. The company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015 and shuttered its downtown Detroit location. TEAM Schostak eventually bought out the company in November 2015. Under TEAM Schostak’s management, Loizon continued to make frequent appearances at the 26 current Olga’s Kitchens across the southeast Michigan region. Loizon is survived by her husband, John Loizon, three children, Emily Kontos, Bill Loizon and Ernest Loizon and two grandchildren, Angelo Kontos and Katina Kontos. TEAM Schostak has also started the Olga Loizon Memorial Fund, an organization that will provide assistance to women entrepreneurs like Loizon. In lieu of flowers, the Loizon family has requested that check donations be sent to the fund at 17800 Laurel Park Drive North, Ste. 200C, Livonia, MI 48152.Private funeral arrangements are pending. Public condolences can be made on Olga’s Kitchen’s Facebook page, sent to the above address, or made in person at any Olga’s Kitchen restaurant. • Olga Loizon, Founder of Olga’s Kitchen, Was First Woman to Get a Loan From Her Local Bank [Crain’s] • Olga’s Kitchen Founder Olga Loizon Dies at 92 [Freep] • A Legacy, Deliciously Seasoned: An Ode to Olga’s Snacker [Metro Times] • All Olga’s Kitchen Coverage [ED]<doc-sep>
One of Michigan’s most-beloved restaurateurs has died. Detroit resident Olga Loizon, who founded Olga’s Kitchen in 1970, passed away on Jan. 21 surrounded by family. She was 92. Best known for her signature Original Olga gyro, Loizon’s oversaw Olga’s Kitchen as it grew from a 10-by-10 space in Birmingham to a 26-restaurant staple across Michigan, breaking barriers along the way. The second-born daughter of Greek immigrant parents, she overcame a series of obstacles and became the first woman to secure a business loan from her local bank. She eventually sold the concept to private investors in 1976 and Olga’s Kitchen was purchased by Michigan-based TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants in late 2015. However, Loizon remained active in the business, often hosting “Olga Visits” at restaurants to meet and interact with her beloved fans “Our beloved mother and grandmother lived a long, happy and successful life that has always amazed and inspired each one of us. It is beautiful to hear countless stories of how she inspired so many others with her accomplishments,” said her son, Bill Loizon. “She loved her family beyond measure. Her passion for her work and Olga’s Kitchen was unmatched, marketing for the brand at every turn." "We are so proud of her legacy and know she and her story will continue to serve as an esteemed role model and inspiration for entrepreneurs, especially fellow females with the drive to make their dreams a reality. She will never be forgotten and will forever be missed.” The Detroit Greek Independence Day Committee awarded Loizon the Greektown Preservation Society Award for her contribution to Greek culture in Michigan in 2017. She is also the recipient of the prestigious 2011 Esteemed Women of Michigan award. “Olga Loizon was a Detroit original whose trademark was to leave everything she touched wrapped in love—from creating her Original Olga and meeting with our loyal guests, to caring for her family and supporting her community,” said Mark Schostak, executive chairman of TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants. “While she will be dearly missed, her legacy will forever live on with Olga’s Kitchen, and we will proudly continue her vision of delighting guests for decades to come in her honor.” Private funeral arrangements are pending. Public condolences can be made on Olga’s Kitchen’s Facebook page, sent to 17800 Laurel Park Drive North, Ste. 200C, Livonia, MI 48152, or made in person at any Olga’s Kitchen restaurant. The Loizon family has requested that check donations be sent to the Olga Loizon Memorial Fund at 17800 Laurel Park Drive North, Ste. 200C, Livonia, MI 48152. Donations made to the foundation will benefit young women with a passion for entrepreneurship.