Evripides (Evris) Kontos
(President and founder of Kontos Foods) began his career working at a bakery in Cyprus after school, making hand-stretched fillo dough and fillo products. Noticing that the bakery could not meet the demand for fillo products during the holiday seasons because of the inability to produce enough fillo dough, Evris began to develop a plan for more efficient production. At the age of 16, he left school and his job, and with a loan from his uncle, started his own business producing fillo dough for bakeries. Soon he was shipping to bakeries all over the island of Cyprus.
Another uncle from the United States visited Cyprus and recognized Evris’ ambition and ingenuity and convinced him that his future was in the United States. Evris sold his business in Nicosia and emigrated, arriving in New York in 1949 where he began working at the Constantinoupolis Bakery on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, an area known as “Greek Town”. Evris quickly proved his abilities in the production of fillo by streamlining the process, increasing productivity and making it more profitable. His boss also allowed him to solve the problem of the excess production (created by the productivity increases) by promoting and selling fillo dough beyond the Hellenic bakeries to German strudel‐makers and other ethnic pastry shops.
By 1968, Evris had started his own fillo dough production company called Apollo in Dumont, New Jersey, using the hand-stretching technique he learned as a young man in Cyprus. In 1971, with the assistance of a future partner, they succeeded in designing the first machine that would mass-produce fillo dough. This machine was able to emulate the hand-stretching process that produced high quality paper-thin dough while maintaining its flexibility and durability. The mechanized production improved availability and price, which accelerated the introduction of fillo dough to professional and amateur chefs, as well as home bakers, and Apollo Fillo quickly became available in supermarkets all over the country.
Realizing there was an untapped demand for ready-made fillo products, Apollo launched a line of Greek fillo products like Baklava, Spanakopita, and Tyropita. To meet the ever-increasing demand for product, the company moved in 1980 to a building of 65,000 square feet in Fairlawn, New Jersey, where five fillo-making machines were in constant operation. The fillo-making machinery provided Apollo with the opportunity to enter into partnerships in Greece, Cyprus, and Australia. In 1982, Evris acquired his partner’s stock, becoming the sole owner of the company. The increased popularity of fillo dough attracted the attention of major food manufacturers, and in 1984, Apollo Fillo was sold to The Pillsbury Company.
After selling Apollo, Mr. Kontos contemplated retirement but decided he was not quite ready to put his feet up. So, in 1987, he purchased a large facility in Paterson, New Jersey to manufacture the popular flatbread of the Mediterranean Cultures. The most ancient of breads, flatbread has been used as an eating utensil for thousands of years and as a wrap to hold meats and vegetables for food “on the go”. While other flatbread bakers were utilizing sheeters to rollout the dough and then die-cut the individual breads, Kontos Foods hand-stretched each loaf producing a bread that is more fluffy and extremely flexible.
The introduction of the hand-stretched Kontos Pocket-Less PitaTM was so successful that Kontos Foods began to expand production to include Greek Gyro Bread, Asian Nans, Paninis, and flavored flatbreads. The flatbread line continues to grow with varieties like our Pan Plano series inspired by the flavors of Mexico, our Cocktail Flatbread, 2 inch disks perfect for canapés and hors d’ oeuvres, and our Pizza Parlor Crusts made with 100% Olive Oil. Today, the Kontos Flatbread product line has expanded to over 40 varieties and is widely distributed to restaurants, hotels, country clubs, business and industry cafeterias, and to retail specialty food stores and supermarkets all over the world.
After so many requests from those in the fillo trade, Mr. Kontos once again began producing fillo dough, this time expanding the gauges to the Number 4, Number 5, and Number 7 fillo, and he was the first to produce the thickest Number 10 Country-Style Fillo. In addition to the dough, this division makes Baklava, Spanakopita, Tyropita, and a wide variety of freshly baked pastries.
In business Mr. Kontos is partnered with his son, Steve and dear friend, Michael Vorkas. In life he is partnered with his wife of over 50 years, Evangelia. They have three children, Steve, Kathy, and Dino, who have blessed them with seven grandchildren.
The Kontos name will always be your guarantee of quality, flavor, and convenience.
We thank you for your patronage.
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