Zorba’s Restaurant and Lounge at Gratiot and South Harrison

September 2, 1984.

“After Almost four decades of serving authentic Greek cuisine in Saginaw, Zorba’s Lounge on the city’s West Side is closing.

‘I want to thank everybody. I appreciate all these years,’ said a sometime tearful Tom Veremix. ‘And I know it hurts you guys, but it hurts me more.’

Veremis immigrated from Greece 70 years ago and has operated Zorba’s for almost 40 years.”

-The Saginaw News, March 30, 2021.

It has been nearly five years since Zorba’s Lounge and restaurant closed – demolished to make way for Skymint Cannabis. And while memories of the restaurant’s familiar blue door, large-scale photographs of Greek scenes, scores of photos of the Saginaw Choral Society and the pressed tin ceiling are starting to dim, the menu is clearly remembered - a variety of carefully prepared classic Greek dishes. And testifies to the veracity of a Saginaw News article about the restaurant’s offerings: “There’s apparently no such thing as offering a limited menu when you’re serving Greek cuisine.*

“That’s what Tom Veremis, owner of Zorba’s Restaurant and Lounge, S. 617 Harrison, discovered when he began offering Greek specialties at his bar on a limited basis.” (The Saginaw News, October 24, 1984.)

October 26, 1984.

“When Tom Veremis came to Saginaw in 1951, ‘I turned 18, I didn’t know the language, and if anyone had asked me to pay a dollar to see the Statue of Liberty, I probably wouldn’t have had any money in pocket,’ he remembers, sitting at one of the long community tables at Zorba’s Greek Restaurant that regularly hold a noon collection of lawyers and judges or a late-night congregation of Saginaw Choral Society members.

He married a girl from the old country, and Irene is still by his side. He worked at different machine shops around Saginaw, raised two daughters with Irene and dreamed of the day he could open a bar for himself.” (The Saginaw News, November 18, 2010).

Veremis opened Zorba’s in what had been Franz Bar in 1982 – advertising suggests an opening date of June 28, 1982. Initially known as Zorba’s Lounge, he offered a fairly limited menu. However, “‘[t]here was a big demand for more, especially from the young kids who went to school in Ann Arbor and came back,’ he said ‘They were familiar with the food, and now I have a third generation, their grandchildren, coming here to eat.” (The Saginaw News, November 18, 2010). He also noted the importance of the annual Greek Festival held by St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in familiarizing the residents of the region with Greek cuisine.

In 1984, the eatery was remodeled, the menu expanded and transformed into Zorba’s Restaurant and Lounge. While the focus was on the food, Zorba’s was also a community gathering place.

Vermis noted:

“‘Everybody knows each other,’ he said. ‘They get up and talk to each other. We’re all family.’” (The Saginaw News, November 18, 2010.)

This link will take you to an article about Tom Veremis and Zorba’s in the Review Magazine:

*At this point, the writer of this piece will note: The Grecian potatoes at Zorba’s were sublime, especially late in the evening toward closing time. There is no such thing as an overcooked order of Grecian potatoes. The potatoes are a greatly missed Saginaw landmark.

The Recipe: Lemon-Rice Soup - Avgolemono

This recipe accompanied a 1984 Saginaw News article about Zorba’s Restaurant featured in the “Specialty of the House” column:

7-8 cups stock

½ - 1cup uncooked rice

2 -3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste

Prepare a soup stock by slowly boiling 1 ½ - 2 pounds lean lamb with enough water to cover it. Add carrots, celery, 1 or 2 potatoes and one onion (optional).

When meat is done strain the stock, measure 7 – 8 cups and boil with rice. In a bowl mix cornstarch, milk and egg yolks well. Pour into soup when rice is cooked.

Remove from heat and slowly add lemon juice while stirring soup so it will not curdle.

Just before serving mix in butter and chopped parsley. Slice the meat and serve it garnished with boiled vegetables. (The Saginaw News, October 24, 1984.)

CTK Notes:

While the recipe is straightforward, read the entire recipe prior to going to the store. You will need to purchase the supplies for making the stock.

The CTK staff failed to fully remove the fat from our stock and that is not a good thing. After making the stock, we might consider cooling it, removing the fat and reheating and then proceeding with completing the Lemon Rice Soup.

Lamb stock has a distinctive flavor and some may prefer making this soup with chicken stock.

Off to search for the recipe for Grecian potatoes…