One of the neighborhood’s reliable stops for a fast, healthy lunch has served its last bowl. After three years on the Upper East Side, the fast-casual favorite told its followers this week that it’s shutting down — and the final day has already arrived.
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The spot is Fotia Mediterranean, the Greek counter-service restaurant at 127 East 60th Street, which announced on Instagram that it would close its doors on June 26. The post thanked the community for “three incredible years” and asked regulars to stop in one more time before the end of the day.Fotia opened in May 2023, the project of Greek-American partners John Koumpourlis and Steve Tenedios, who landed on a fast-casual Mediterranean concept in the years after the pandemic. The name is the Greek word for fire — a nod, Koumpourlis has said, to the idea that good cooking starts with a flame. The menu, built around grain bowls, salads and pita wraps alongside house-made dips and imported Greek pantry goods, was shaped with chef George Pagonis of Paros Tribeca.
The closing comes just months after the partners were talking about growth rather than goodbyes. In an interview with The National Herald early this year, Koumpourlis said the plan for 2026 was to expand, with hopes of opening more locations around New York and the tri-state area.
No reason for the closing was given in the announcement, and as of publication the restaurant’s website still listed its usual hours of 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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