The Pan Gregorian Fund of Metro N.Y. & L.I. hosted its Academics, Arts and Community Gala at on May 31. The annual event was the occasion for honoring distinguished restaurateur Tasos Manessis.  A number of cultural groups were awarded grants, including the New York Greek Film Festival, which received $4000.

According to the website of the Pan Gregorian Enterprises, Inc. of New Jersey, “PAN GREGORIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. (PGE) is a restaurant /diner cooperative. It was established in 1983 as a food service cooperative to serve the independently owned restaurant industry in New Jersey.

“While the PGE concept started in New Jersey, through its success, it quickly expanded to other markets to include Metro New York, Long Island, Upper New York, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina. PGE was established with just one goal in mind, to assist the independent restaurant/diner owner by negotiating the lowest cost and ensuring the highest quality of the food served and the supplies used by its members. In addition to this, PGE is helping the independent operator in lowering costs and increasing profits through direct negotiations, as a combined force, with suppliers and manufacturers.

“Pan Gregorian Enterprises, Inc. of New Jersey is comprised of 320 Stockholders and 800 Associate Members, all of which are working together for their common good. It is an organization that is managed and operated by its own members. The Board of Directors is elected from the membership and each member is an independent operator.

“Currently, there are over 200 programs which have been specifically designed to develop new and existing opportunities for the PGE members. Our organization strives to secure for its members the same benefits franchises have enjoyed for years. It also creates a logical start for many vendors to introduce new products and services for our members. We have proven time and again that with cooperation and understanding, every independent operator can achieve a successful advantage over the ever-increasing competition.”

(L-R): Ekaterini Malliou; Costas Constantinides; Manos Koubarakis, Greek Consul, Andreas Tsangarides, Nick Bardis, Demetrios Kafchitsas, Yvette Manessis Corporon – whose father Tassos Manessis was honored; and Vasilios Philippou, Cypriot Consul General.