About us

When now partners, Stratos Lambos and Angelo Kaltsounis, met while attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., both were sons of restaurateurs. The two young chefs shared the same vision for creating a successful and renowned restaurant company. After earning a business degree in hospitality management in Florida, Lambos worked for “The Restaurant People” and met Tim Petrillo. He then moved to Atlanta to open Kyma, a Buckhead Life Group restaurant with Pano Karatassos, his college roommate and son of famous Atlanta restaurateur, I. Pano Karatassos. Karatassos senior was passionate about helping Lambos succeed and advised him in conceptualizing a new Greek fast casual restaurant. The result was a partnership in 2003 between Lambos, Kaltsounis, and Kaltsounis’s brother & pastry chef, Frank Kaltsounis and the opening of ilios noche in the Charlotte’s Ballantyne area. Due to the area and clientele, within the first year it converted from the fast casual, with walk up counter ordering, to a full service restaurant. With this change came a more extensive menu and full bar.

In 2006 the arrival of Xenia Hospitality Group helped the partners and their new found restaurant group gain momentum alongside other Charlotte based restaurant group.

Then in the middle of the Covid pandemic, came the opening of Xenia Hospitality Group’s Greek fast casual restaurant, Ilios Crafted Greek (ICG). Located in Charlotte’s Southend district, a very millennial concentrated area, ICG embraced the area and clientele’s needs with fresh, local ingredients and an authentically crafted menu.

Early June 2022, Ilios Crafted Greek opened their second location in Baxter Village, Fort Mill, SC, and the following year opened their third location in Stonecrest at Piper Glen, Charlotte.

All locations pride themselves in the same fresh, local ingredients and authentically crafted menu.