Jimmy Nikolulis came to Indiana 25 years ago as a foreign exchange student, and he has never gone back to Greece.
As a high school student, Nikolulis dreamed of opening a restaurant in the Village. His dream became a reality in 1997 when he opened the restaurant King Gyros Village Grill. After seven years, he has closed his doors for the last time.
"I liked that street," he said referring to University Avenue. "It's a beautiful little strip. It made me feel younger. It was inspiring walking down the street with all the young people."
On Saturday, Nikolulis, 43, closed his restaurant's doors for the last time.
"We had some wonderful memories there," he said. "We fall short on our dreams sometimes."
Nikolulis said he began thinking of closing the restaurant in March because of health problems. Also, he said the drive from Wabash, where he resides and owns the restaurant Wabash Gardens, became overwhelming.
Nikolulis said the building had water problems when it rained because it was an older building. However, landlord T.K. Puttaswamy said even though the building is 20 years old, it doesn't have any problems.
The Delaware County building commissioner and board of health could not be reached for comment.
Puttaswamy said he was surprised that Nikolulis closed the restaurant.
"He closed without telling me," Puttaswamy said. "He owes a lot of money to us."
Nikolulis said he did owe Puttaswamy money, but he promised to pay him back. Nikolulis said his rent was $2,100 a month including property taxes.
"The economy is not the best," Nikolulis said. "You can sense that people are going through hard times."
Derek Edwards, owner of White Rabbit, said many businesses are closing in the community because of a slow economy.
"I hate to see any business close because we're all leaning on each other," Edwards said.
Tina Roberts, a manager of TIS College Bookstore, said she ate at King Gyros Village Grill frequently with her coworkers.
"We used to go there all the time at least twice a week," Roberts said. "I think it's just one less thing to draw students down to the Village."
Nikolulius said parking was a big problem for his customers and staff. He said many would not come back because they received parking tickets.
"I don't blame them for not coming back," he said. "I got two tickets myself."
Nikolulius said most of his business was seasonal following the academic year of Ball State, and he had a hard time staffing his restaurant with strong management.
Freshman Graham Watson, who helped provide live entertainment at the restaurant, said that the restaurant housed many local and touring bands.
"They didn't request money," he said. "All we had to do was help re-arrange chairs afterwards."
Graduate student Joy Gerwe said she will miss King Gyros Village Grill because it was a different environment for young people.
"For me, it was extra special," she said. "I remember when I was a freshman in college they did live shows."
Nikolulius said he will continue to manage his restaurant in Wabash, and he hopes to see someone put a coffee shop into the vacant space.
"Some decisions are heartbreaking, but you have to do what you have to do," he said.
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