User:Jgalfas/I. Pano Karatassos

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I. Pano Karatassos
Pano Karatassos is the President and CEO of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group (BLRG), a privately owned company comprised of 14 upscale restaurants headquartered in Atlanta, GA with two new restaurants in Boca Raton, Florida. "’Pano Karatassos has a true passion for our great industry, and an equal passion for serving his community,’ said Peter Kilgore, acting interim president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.” He develops the concept of each of his independent restaurants, oversees the day-to-day operations as well as regulates the food, personnel, and decor quality standards. He is an active member of his community as a charity fundraiser and as a member of several civic boards and efforts.

Personal Life and Early Professional Life
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, Karatassos was destined to be in the restaurant industry. His father ran a restaurant import food business called Pano's Food Shop in Savannah. A man of Greek descent, Karatassos worked with his father as a youngster, and then worked in the food department while serving in the Navy.

Karatassos was educated at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. (http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/07/14/focus2.html?page=7 ) After graduation in 1960, Karatassos did his apprenticeship at the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. He went on to hold numerous positions at the DeSoto Hotel in Savannah, Georgia (http://www.desotobeachhotel.com/); the Palm Beach Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Florida; the Gstaad Palace Hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland (http://www.palace.ch/); the Montreaux Palace Hotel in Montreaux, Switzerland (http://www.montreuxlakehotels.ch/scripts/index.aspx?idz=1); the Hotel Corporation of America in Washington D.C.; and the Lodge of The Four Seasons (http://www.4seasonsresort.com/) in Lake Ozark, Missouri.

Karatassos is an Archon of the Greek Orthodox Church. He and his wife, Georgia, have three children, Anne, Pano, and Nicholas, all of whom have assumed leadership roles in Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, and seven grandchildren. While Karatassos enjoys traveling and working out in his home gym, his favorite hobby is truly his work.

Founding of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group
Karatassos met Chef Paul Albrecht in 1968 while working in Washington D.C. and later worked with him in Missouri. They both greatly admired each other's talents and commitment to excellence. After years of working for other people, Karatassos decided to establish a restaurant of his own, with Paul as Chef/Partner at the flagship restaurant, Pano's & Paul's. Pano’s & Paul’s opened in 1979 and became the first of the BLRG culinary empire.

After analyzing several popular markets, Karatassos decided on Atlanta, which he perceived as the most dynamic city in the South. Karatassos’ dedication, business finesse, food knowledge, and ability to serve a discriminating clientele are the primary reasons why his restaurants have been so successful.

To date his restaurant empire includes Pano's & Paul's which opened in 1979, the Fish Market in 1981, relocated as the Atlanta Fish Market in 1993; 103 West which opened in 1982; Pricci in 1985; the Buckhead Diner in 1987; Chops in 1989; Lobster Bar at Chops in 1996, and The Club at Chops in 1999; Veni Vidi Vici in 1993, Buckhead Bread Company & Corner Cafe in 1994; Nava in 1995; Bluepointe in 1999; and Kyma in 2001. Chops Lobster Bar Boca Raton, FL opened in March 2007, as the first BLRG restaurant outside of Atlanta. Following it, City Fish Market, a local adaptation of Atlanta Fish Market, opened in Boca Raton in November of 2008. Bistro Niko opened in the Sovereign Building in Atlanta November 2009. Lobster Bar and Sea Grilled open in Fort Lauderdale, FL in July 2013.

--108.84.105.230 (talk) 21:46, 21 December 2011 (UTC)lucas karatassos--108.84.105.230 (talk) 21:46, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

Recognition and Awards
2008 Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Legend (http://www.nrn.com/HallOfFame.aspx?menu_id=1518)

2007 Cornerstone Humanitarian Award, National Restaurant Association (http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/print/index.cfm?ID=1496)

2006 Great Oak Award, Share Our Strength (http://www.strength.org/conference/)

2006 March of Dimes Culinary Salute of Excellence (http://www.marchofdimes.com/ )

2005 Atlanta Business Chronicle Who’s Who in Atlanta Business (http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/)

2005 Food Arts magazine Silver Spoon Award

2002 Ellis Island Medal of Honor (http://www.neco.org/awards/recipients/ipkaratassos.html)

2002 March of Dimes Salute to Culinary Excellence (http://www.marchofdimes.com/)

2002 National Conference for Community and Justice Brotherhood Award

2002 National Share Our Strength Leadership Award (http://www.strength.org/)

2000 Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau Hospitality Hall of Fame Award

2001 March of Dimes Leadership Award

1999 Share Our Strength Humanitarian of the Year

1999 National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation College of Diplomats (http://www.nraef.org/)

1997 Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence

1997 From Minds to Menu Award for Best Menu Concepts for Upscale Restaurants

1997 Restaurant and Institutions Ivy Award, Pano’s & Paul’s (http://www.rimag.com/awards-events/ivy/winners-all.asp)

Entrepreneur of the Year for the hospitality industry by INC. Magazine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inc._magazine or http://www.inc.com/)

Life Member and Honorary Trustee of The Culinary Institute of America (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culinary_institute_of_america or http://www.ciachef.edu/)

Nation’s Fine Dining Hall of Fame (Nation’s Restaurant News) (http://www.nrn.com/)

Culinary Institute of America’s 1995 Humanitarian of the Year Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culinary_institute_of_america or http://www.ciachef.edu/)

Council of Independent Restaurant Brokers Georgia’s Entrepreneur of the Year, 1995

1994 Restaurant and Institution Ivy Award, Buckhead Diner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurants_%26_Institutions)

1993 IFMA Silver Plate Independent Restaurant Operator of the Year for the U.S. (http://www.ifmaworld.com/index.php?idrub=55&idmeta=65&idlang=2&idsite=1)

1993 Torch of Liberty Award given by the Anti-Defamation League (http://www.adl.org/) (previous winners include Governor Zell Miller, Anne Cox Chambers, and Coca-Cola's former CEO Roberto Goizueta )

"Bullish on Buckhead" Award given by the Buckhead Business Association in 1990 (http://www.buckheadbusiness.org/)

Nation's Restaurant News Independent Restaurateur of the Year in 1989 (http://www.nrn.com/)

The Variety Club of Atlanta's Restaurateur of the Year in 1987

Georgia's Restaurateur of the Year in both 1985 and 1992

1989 MUFSO Golden Chain Award (http://www.mufso.com/) (Nation’s Restaurant News) (http://www.nrn.com/)

Community Giving
As a community leader, Karatassos is on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Restaurant Association (http://www.garestaurants.org/) and active with The March of Dimes (http://www.marchofdimes.com/). He is a founding member of Atlanta's Table (http://www.acfb.org/projects/atlantas_table/), a project of the Atlanta Community Food Bank (http://www.acfb.org/), a former South Central Bailli of the Chaine Des Rotisseurs (http://www.chaineus.org/), an active alumnus & board member of the Culinary Institute of America (http://www.ciachef.edu/), as well as a member of the Buckhead Coalition.

Karatassos is especially noted for his adoption of the hunger issue to which he devotes most of his charitable efforts. He is the Atlanta chairperson for the national Share Our Strength (SOS) (http://www.strength.org/) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_Our_Strength) Taste of the Nation event (http://taste.strength.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TOTN_homepage), for which he is one of the country's leading fund-raisers and organizers raising over $5 million dollars. The proceeds from SOS (http://www.strength.org/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_Our_Strength) are distributed to local, national, and international hunger agencies.

Karatassos also developed the country's first freshly "prepared food program" for the hungry, versus the traditional offering of leftovers or canned food. Karatassos was instrumental in recruiting other restaurants and wholesalers to join him in this effort.

He also raises funds for the March of Dimes (http://www.marchofdimes.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_dimes), an organization that conducts research on birth defects in addition to countless local charities monthly.