BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Nick Pihakis began his career driving produce routes in Birmingham, Alabama, a city with a vibrant Greek-American community but he didn’t stop there: next came learning the restaurant business from fellow Greeks.

There was no stopping him as he learned all the stations of the eateries but had his eye at the top of the chain and eventually created a chain, with his father: Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, with 41 restaurants in seven states.

That business was sold in 2015 but Nick kept going doing what he knew and loved best and that’s blossomed into The Pihakis Restaurant group that’s gone past Greek to include  Little Donkey Mexican Restaurant, Rodney Scott’s BBQ, Hero Doughnuts and Buns and Hot Dog Pete’s.

The secret of his success, he said, is going back to those Greek family foots and making sure all the restaurants have only fresh and healthy food and now one the ventures, Tasty Town, has something for teetotalers too: mocktails.

It offers a non-alcoholic gin and tonic with rosemary, grapefruit, and pink peppercorn; an Argonaut with Spiritless 74, honey, tahini, and lemon; or a no-alcohol Grapefruit and Elderflower cocktail.