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Palm Harbor Woman Cooks Up Decade-Long Dream

Mark Schantz/SUNCOAST NEWS

Toula Kourtides, middle, and staffers Kimberly Madden, left, and Dana Lee show one of the creations available at Toula's Trailside Cafe, in Tarpon Springs on the Fred marquis Pinellas Trail just north of Tarpon Avenue.

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: July 26, 2008

TARPON SPRINGS - For many years, Panagiota Kourtides dreamed about creating and cooking special recipes in her own quaint cafe.

When her family was in the restaurant business, Kourtides, known to one and all as Toula, was always the designated greeter. She was out front looking after the people side of the restaurant.

Where she really longed to be, however, was back in the kitchen.

When a friend told her a downtown building that once housed an eatery was available, that dream was the on the verge of becoming a reality.

Kourtides waited, however, until someone fixed up the building at 11 S. Safford Ave. so she would not have to do a lot of remodeling. She has, however, put in many of her own special touches.

She took out design plans and recipes worked on for more than a decade and a few weeks ago opened Toula's Trailside Cafe, a breakfast and lunch restaurant serving Greek and American cuisine. The restaurant takes its name from the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, a local segment of which runs down the middle of Safford Avenue.

Born in Serres, a city of about 55,000 in an agricultural area of northeastern Greece, Kourtides came to this country with her family just after she finished high school. She taught herself to read and write English and gained U.S. citizenship in 1988, she proudly notes.

These days Kourtides lives in the Palm Harbor area with husband Sam Spillers, an engineer, and daughter Kristina, 19. Son James, 26, is a student at the University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

Before striking out on her own Kourtides worked as a waitress at Lenny's, in Clearwater, and the former Lemon Tree Restaurant, also in Clearwater. She saved every penny to open a restaurant in which she could do all the cooking and be in control of the recipes.

"You can make it in the restaurant business, even in this tough economy, if you have constantly good food, offered at a low price that people can afford," Kourtides said.

"People still have to eat and food is one of the few pleasures they can still afford, especially when you make them feel welcome, like they are a member of the family," she said.

Kourtides loves being in downtown Tarpon Springs because it is such a historic, friendly and close-knit community, she said.

She also loves being in the kitchen and cooking. She makes her own soups, dressings and sauces from scratch.

For example, her honey almond chicken salad includes a blend of toasted almonds tossed in balsamic vinaigrette dressing, fresh greens and a side of homemade banana bread.

Her baby fresh spinach salad, made with feta, crumbled bacon, toasted walnuts and fresh blueberries tossed in a raspberry fusion dressing.

The breakfast menu includes of specialty omelets and egg dishes, along items such as stuffed French toast.

Kourtides creates a Greek salad made with her own special dressing recipe, along with a variety of wraps, pitas, half-pound burgers, Cubans and hot presses.

She sometimes wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to go over special breakfast and lunch recipes. Serving just breakfast and lunch is perfect because it allows her to watch over everything, she said.

Kimberly Madden, a waitress who worked with Kourtides at the Lemon Tree, said the fame of Toula's Trailside Cafe is growing. Many Pinellas Trail users come in for a light bite, breakfast or drink before heading skating or bicycling away, she said.

Toula's Trailside Cafe is open from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.

Mark Schantz can be reached at 727-815-1075 or mschantz@suncoastnews.com.

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