The spirit, flavors, and culture of the Mediterranean are woven into everything restaurateurs Stefanos Vouvoudakis, Tom Tsiplakos, and Joe Ragonese do, from the food on the plate to the memorable atmosphere surrounding it.
Their Greek- and Italian-inspired cuisine evokes memories of some of the world’s most beautiful places—and leaves diners craving premium extra virgin olive oil, homegrown tomatoes, fresh produce, and other exceptional ingredients.
As co-owner of Balos Restaurant Group, a growing hospitality group in the DMV and beyond, Ragonese and his partners have turned his passion for food, travel, and community into a growing collection of distinctive restaurants.
Longtime friends and business partners Vouvoudakis and Tsiplakos were nurturing For Five Coffee, their wholesale coffee business in New York, while Ragonese led several restaurant groups. For Five Coffee, with its 3500+ wholesale accounts and 30+ cafes, was the gateway to starting the hospitality side of the business.
Their collective journey began when they joined forces to create Balos Restaurant Group, a flourishing hospitality company featuring several Greek, Italian, and other European-inspired restaurants.
“Our story is about finding the right opportunities, locations, and concepts, and focusing on building a community around them,” Ragonese says. “We cement our feet to the area and become an integral part of the neighborhood.”
Friendship and family are two keys to understanding these hard-working restaurateurs. “Tom, Joe, and I all come from Greek families, so food and hospitality have always been a huge part of our lives,” explains Vouvoudakis. “We grew up around big tables, big families, and this idea that when someone comes into your home, you take care of them. That’s definitely shaped the way we’ve built the restaurant group.”
Appreciating their roots is also a key to the dedication these partners have for their restaurants. “Our Greek heritage gave us a really strong foundation,” Tsplakos added. “Family, hard work, generosity and pride in what you serve. As the business has grown, those values have stayed at the center of it.”
Their first full-service, 200-seat restaurant, Balos Estiatorio, opened in late 2023 with a Greek concept designed to capture all of the senses of the Greek Islands. Balos will be included at the PLM Reader’s Choice Event on November 8.
The experience goes far beyond the menu. To make Balos feel authentically Greek, the partners incorporated elements directly inspired by Greece, including stone, tile, flooring, and furniture, along with specialty ingredients such as premium olive oil, spices, fish, seafood, and meats. And they weren’t finished.
Today, the partners also own Bar Angie, a classic New York neighborhood bistro; Angie’s in Manhasset, New York, which opened in March 2026; and The Angie, a 200-seat French brasserie on Fairfax Drive in Ballston, Virginia, that opened July 10, 2026.
The Angie is designed to keep the experience going from morning until midnight. It opens daily at 7 a.m. with coffee, pastries, and a 50-seat outdoor café, where an almond croissant and Freddo espresso are among the favorites. Lunch begins at 11 a.m., with dinner and late-night menu service continuing until midnight.
The partners are already looking ahead. Two more restaurants are planned for 2027: Sorella, a Northern Italian restaurant around the corner from Balos, designed to transport diners to Europe; and a second Balos location in Sarasota, Florida.
Hospitality is Center Stage
Chef Alex Oradei oversees all of the group’s kitchens, bringing consistency and creativity to every location. “Our food is what gives us sustainability and credibility, and Chef Alex has our restaurants bringing out the best food every day,” Ragonese said.
What Ragonese loves most about the restaurant business is that no two days are alike.
“There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than knowing somebody chose your restaurant for a first date, birthday party, business meeting, or special event,” he says. “They got a babysitter, arranged their schedule, and are here to try our new concepts, new cocktails, and new menu items.”
Among Ragonese’s favorite dishes at Balos are the fried feta, coated in a sesame-seed crust and served with sour cherries and honey; simply grilled lamb chops with lemon and Greek fries; and filet mignon kebab with fingerling potatoes, chimichurri, and grilled pita.
Why Regulars Keep Coming Back
For Ragonese, the delectable food may bring guests through the door, but hospitality is what makes them want to return.
His goal is to create restaurants that feel like more than places to eat—places where guests can celebrate, connect, relax, and escape, even if only for a few hours—for a first date, a birthday party, a business meeting, or another special event.
The future looks extremely bright for the Balos Restaurant Group. “The goal is longevity,” said Tsiplakos. “We’re not building concepts around what’s trendy right now. We want to create restaurants that people are still excited to walk into ten or twenty years from now.”
Vouvoudakis agrees. “There are a lot of opportunities ahead of us, but growth for us has never been about simply adding locations,” he added. “We plan to continue expanding into the right markets, with the right concepts, while staying very intentional about everything that we create.”
Balos Estiatorio
Open for brunch, lunch, dinner, and happy hour
1940 N Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
202.952.1174
info@balosrestaurants.com
The Angie
3901 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA. 22203
info@theangierestaurants.com