Dimitiri's Cafe brings a heritage all its own to traditional Greek and American dishes that prove to be a tempting alternative to traditional fare served during the holiday season.

Petepanagiotis Lalas and his wife Monique started Dimitri's four and a half years ago and have never looked back.

Petepanagiotis is the head chef at the restaurant and brings a lifetime of experience to his homemade dishes. Greek culture is in his blood, as he was born and raised in central northern Greece.

"My dad was a cook years ago back home," he said. "I was always going after him asking him questions."

That was the start of a legacy that Petepanagiotis is passing on down to his son, 8-year-old Dimitri, after who the restaurant is named.

"Now he comes to help me after school," Petepanagiotis said.

Dimitri is following right in his father's footsteps and said his favorite thing to cook is pancakes.

After moving to the U.S., Petepanagiotis owned a restaurant in California and then decided to move to Salt Lake City. He moved to Utah in 1980 and was inspired to move to a smaller community and ended up in Tooele.

The Lalas have kept busy serving up traditional cuisine to patrons looking for a little variety in their menu.

"[Greek cuisine] is really healthy because we cook with olive oil," he said. "And there's not a lot of deep frying."

On Monday, Petepanagiotis prepared one of his signature dishes, "The Deluxe," which includes a little bit of everything. The dish has a salad topped with olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and homemade dressing. It also comes with a fresh pita, chicken skewer and grape dolmades, which are grape leaves filled with ground beef, rice, spices and topped with marinara sauce.

The salad is a basic starter, but gets a distinctive flavor from Petepanagiotis' homemade Greek dressing. He is also known for his bleu cheese, ranch, and thousand island salad toppers that people request by the pint.

For his chicken skewers, Petepanagiotis marinates the chicken for a day in a mix of olive oil, lemon juice and spices.

"The juice just soaks in and it gives it a good flavor," he said.

The grape dolmades were the stars of the dish though, bringing an unexpected flavor to the plate. The grape leaves were infused with a surprising mix of savory flavors.

The flavors and personal service are what has helped Dimitri's find its niche and cultivate a customer base, which has made the Lalas able to plan for an expansion to the restaurant that will come sometime in the next year. They hope to increase seating and overhaul the entire look of the building.

Dimitiri's is open Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. They will be closed on Thanksgiving.