Member of the Week -- Matsos Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Congratulations to Matsos Family Restaurant & Pizza who celebrated their 40th anniversary of opening in Wooster on June 15th. We are thrilled to feature them as this week’s Member of the Week!
Located on what the owner Spiro Matsos calls the lucky corner of Liberty and Walnut, Matsos Family Restaurant is a hometown favorite for world-class Greek and Italian dishes, including Matsos’ famous spaghetti pizza. No stranger to hard work, you can often find Spiro manning the phones, greeting and serving guests, or zipping around the restaurant handling whatever needs to be handled.
Matsos: A Hometown Institution, A National Household Name
Before he and his wife Pamela opened Matsos, they ran a pizza shop near Yale University called The Bulldog, named after Yale’s mascot, Handsome Dan. A little more than 40 years ago, they visited Wooster and fell in love with the community, immediately sold The Bulldog, and set in motion plans to open a restaurant in the heart of Wooster. Spiro and Pamela happened upon a little space on the corner of Walnut and Liberty and began inquiring about the highly sought-after property. After a quick, impromptu meeting, Julius Duberstein, who owned the property, agreed to rent the space to the Matsos, and about a month later, Matsos Family Restaurant & Pizza opened for business. Known for their Greek food and gourmet pizzas, Matsos has become a downtown Wooster institution and a national household name, with their house salad dressing – Matsos Dressing & Marinade – now being sold in 32 states across the country.
A Passion for the Ohio Light Opera
When Spiro isn’t running the restaurant, he can be found rehearsing for upcoming performances with the Ohio Light Opera. In fact, the walls of Matsos are decorated with an archive of past performances and signed headshots of celebrity performers. In his 39th year with the OLO, he will be reprising his role as Toni in The Student Prince. “It’s my favorite role, and I’m looking forward to doing it again.” This will be his sixth time playing Toni.
Inspired by a Masterclass Community
Spiro has no shortage of kind words or inspiring stories to tell about Wooster. He considers himself lucky to be surrounded and inspired by a “community of people who put their money, their time, their future, and their everyday life into building up our town.”
“This is a community of people who put their money, their time, their future, and their everyday life into building up our town.”
But his biggest inspiration has always been his wife, Pamela, and his children, Christopher and Lee. “Without Pamela,” he says, “I don’t think I would have had the inspiration to do all these things. She inspired me. She was this beautiful, smart girl, who did so much, and I thought, I want to do that, too!” Pamela, who passed away 6 years ago, served as the principal at Central Christian High School and later as the Head of School at the Montessori School of Wooster. She was also on the Women’s Advisory Board at the College of Wooster, where a scholarship is named in her honor.
Matsos Family Restaurant & Pizza is open Tuesday through Saturday from 3-9pm. Call them at (330) 264-8800 to book a table or place an order.