KONTOS History Page

From a
Local Bakery and Confectionery
to
The First Family of Fillo
and
The Premier Baker of Hand Stretched Flatbread

The hand stretching is not new to the Kontos name. The Kontos family has been baking quality ethnic products since the early 1940’s.

Local Bakery and Confectionery Evripides (Evris) Kontos (president and founder of Kontos Foods) began his career working at a bakery in Cyprus after school. This bakery made hand-stretched fillo dough and fillo products. He noticed that his boss could not fulfill orders during the holiday seasons because they were unable to produce enough fillo. There, he developed the first ideas of mass production of fillo. At the age of 16, he left school and his job and with a loan from his uncle, he started his own business producing fillo for bakeries. Soon he was shipping to bakeries all over the island of Cyprus. A new chapter in Evris’ life opened when an uncle from the United States visited Cyprus and noticed his talent. He urged him to come to America. Evris sold his business in Nicosia and left for the United States.
	Arriving in America He arrived in New York in 1949 and began working at the Constantinoupolis Bakery on 8^th Avenue in New York City an area that was known as ‘Greek Town’. Evris quickly proved his ingenuity in the production of fillo by streamlining the process, thereby increasing productivity and making it more profitable. This created the dilemma of where to sell all of the increased production. His boss allowed him the opportunity to promote and sell fillo dough beyond the Hellenic bakeries to German strudel makers and other ethnicities. By 1968, Evris had begun his own company in Dumont, NJ producing fillo dough. This company was called Apollo. Shortly after that, Mr. Kontos moved his other company that produced spanakopita, tyropita, baklava, and kataifi into the same facility. Their hand-stretched fillo and other Mediterranean confections were distributed to restaurateurs and bakeries throughout the metropolitan New York area, as well as sold in the storefront. Mass Production of Fillo Dough In 1971, with the assistance of a future partner, they succeeded in designing the first machine that would manufacture fillo. They began mass-producing fillo dough. This machine was able to assimilate the hand-stretch process that produced high quality paper-thin dough, which was extremely flexible and yet durable. This ushered the introduction of fillo dough to the general American public and to culinarians. Soon, food writers and high profile chefs displayed interest in the product and Apollo Fillo became available in supermarkets all over the country. Meeting the ever-increasing demand for product, in 1977, the company moved to a building of 65,000 sq. feet in Fairlawn, NJ, where five fillo-making machines were in constant operation. This machinery provided Mr. Kontos with the opportunity to enter into partnerships in London, Athens, Cyprus and Australia. In 1982, Evris acquired the stock from his partner, becoming the sole owner of the company. The popularity of fillo dough attracted the attention of a major food manufacturer, and in 1984, Apollo Fillo was sold to The Pillsbury Company.
Retirement? Retirement for Mr. Kontos was not easy. In 1987, he purchased a large facility in Paterson, NJ to concentrate its efforts on the popular breads of the Middle East . . . pita . . . the pocketless flatbread. Pita has been a staple in everyday dining throughout the Middle Eastern region since the dawn of time, used as a utensil at all meals, and often used as a ‘wrap’ to encircle sliced meats or salads as ‘food to go’. Hand-Stretching or Die-Cutting? While other bakers were utilizing sheeters to rollout dough and then ‘die cut’ the individual breads, Evris accepted the challenge of making flatbread the ‘old fashion way’ . . . making individual dough-balls and then, hand-stretching each loaf. This produced a fluffier bread that proved to be extremely flexible. The introduction of the hand-stretched Kontos Pocket-Less Pita™ followed and was received with great favor by the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern communities. With research into food history, it was determined that with modifications, this process could be applied to flatbread making not only for Mediterranean breads, but to those of South Central Asia. After extensive testing of formulations and focus group taste-testing, Kontos introduced a complete line of Central Asian flatbread (naan). Immediately, ethnic specialty stores (Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan) featured Kontos Brand Nan on their shelves. The Premier Baker of Hand-Stretched Flatbread The Kontos Flatbread product line has expanded to over 22 varieties, more than any other flatbread baker. Direct distribution moved aside for national distribution. Kontos flatbread is widely used in country clubs, hotels, restaurants, and business and industry cafeterias. It is sold at retail through specialty food stores and supermarkets throughout the country. Kontos also exports to Japan, Singapore, Jakarta, Canada and the Caribbean. Evris’ hard-working oldest son, Steve, is Vice President and Director of Sales of Kontos Foods.
	The First Family of Fillo Evris, the entrepreneur, recalled his humble beginnings in America, and in 1996, he created another company. This company manufactures fillo dough, and is located across from our main building. The Kontos name is known as The First Family of Fillo, through the development and introduction of a number of outstanding features in the fillo making. Kontos Fillo Dough is available in a number of sizes (thicknesses) and characteristics. Evris is responsible for the introduction of Kontos Country-Style Fillo Dough [Horiatiko] (also known as Kontos Number 10 Fillo). This fillo is thicker, the exact thickness for strudel making and just like gia-gia (grandma) hand-stretched. Besides the fillo dough, the company produces a variety of high quality Mediterranean hors d’oeuvre and pastries.
A Mediterranean Specialty Food Distributor Kontos maintains its presence in the specialty ethnic market not only by manufacturing fillo and fillo products, in addition to flatbread, but by imports olives and feta cheese from the Mediterranean. Kontos provides a full range of Mediterranean Specialty Products, including: Gyro meat products; Gyro Sauce (Tzatziki); Greek Olives; Feta Cheese (Greek, Bulgarian, Italian, Israel [Kosher], and Domestic); Kefalograviera, Kefalotyri, Kasseri, Haloumi, and Monouri Cheeses; Moussaka and Pastichio; Locanico; Souvlaki (Pork, Chicken, and Beef); Greek-Style Pressed Yogurt; Greek Coffee; Dolmadakia, to name a few.
	Award Winning Products Kontos Brand products are award winning. Some of the recent awards are: Kontos Southwestern Flatbread was selected as one of The Best New Bakery Products for 1999 by the Eastern Perishable Products Association. In 1999, the American Tasting Institute named Kontos Roghani Nan, Kontos Tandoori Nan, Kontos Missy Roti, and Kontos Southwestern Flatbread as Outstanding Products in their category. Kontos Baked Spanakopita was awarded the 1997 EDDA Best New Bakery Product (Crystal Award of Excellence) by the Eastern Dairy-Deli Association.
Evris Kontos Evripides (Evris) Kontos is a classic example of a self-made entrepreneur. He put his stamp upon the foodservice industry as the first to manufacture fillo dough by mechanizing the process. He started with very humble beginnings in the village of Karavas, in the district of Kyrenia, and reached the highest levels of success through his hard work, inventiveness and perseverance. Due to difficult times and the fact that his parents had three other sons, at the age of five he was brought to Lefkosia, the capital of Cyprus, where he was raised by his aunt and uncle, Irene and Kyriakos Agathagelou. Upon graduating elementary school, he attended the PanCyprian Gymnasium. Evris met Evangelia (Eva) Koufoudakis, and they were married in Athens in 1956. They have three children, Steve, Kathy, and Dino, who have blessed them with seven grandchildren. Mr. Kontos, being of Cypriot descent, has not forgotten what happened to his own village and to his beloved motherland after the barbarous invasion. He was one of the first to respond to the call for action and worked for justice in Cyprus. He is past President of Lambousa, founding member of PanCyprian, member of the Cyprus Federation, and other organizations, including the Greek Lobby in Washington DC. For his services to the Greek Orthodox Church in America, Evris Kontos was named Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He is a Great Benefactor of St. John the Theologian in Tenafly, NJ, and St George in New Port Richey, FL.