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Giorgios Bakatsias at
the welcoming desk.
A private dining room
to the left of the foyer
space of Kipos can
accommodate larger
groups and meetings.
He greets you as if he’s known you for years, it feels as if he’s welcoming you into his home for dinner.
Evoking happiness is what Bakatsias desires for those who visit his restaurants.
“Everything is about bringing joyful moments,” he says.
Bakatsias (pronounced Bah-ka-cha) was named the 2022 Restaurateur of the Year by the North Carolina
Restaurant and Lodging Association. Kipos will be his 15th restaurant under the Giorgios Hospitality Group
label. Others include Rosewater in Raleigh, Parizade and Vin Rouge in Durham, Farm Table in Wake Forest
and Bin 54 and Kipos Greek Taverna in Chapel Hill. The new Kipos — which means “garden” in Greek — has
taken over Lumina Station’s anchor restaurant space at 1900 Eastwood Road, formerly the 1900 Restaurant
Lounge.
A complete interior renovation has transformed the space into the feel of the legendary Greek island of
Santorini, with new crisp white walls replacing dark wood paneling and newly refinished whitewashed wood
flooring. A central element, the 17-seat bar once stained black, has been hand scraped and topped with a white
quartz counter.
“We scraped it and said, ‘Wow! This is kind of funky in a good way, so let’s leave it, it really pulls everything
together,’” says Bakatsias.