Tony Bamboe, owner of the recently opened Ikonos Real Greek Souvlaki Restaurant in Gig Harbor, has wanted to own a Greek restaurant for almost two decades.

“I came up with this idea,” he said. “I wanted to serve Greek food that was fast, healthy and out of this world.”

Although the 10-year harbor resident isn’t Greek himself — he’s Dutch and Indonesian — he was introduced to the country’s food and culture through his sister, who married a Greek man.

Bamboe, his sister and his brother-in-law started throwing around the idea of opening a Greek restaurant in 1994, when all three were living in Canada. But when Bamboe wife’s became pregnant with the couple’s daughter, he decided to be a stay-at-home dad instead.

“I loved doing it,” he said of raising his daughter for the past 13 years. “She is a miracle. I would not trade it for anything else.”

Bamboe’s sister and brother-in-law went on to start Opa! Souvlaki of Greece, a Greek fast food restaurant with 76 locations throughout Canada. The restaurant soon became a successful franchise.

When Bamboe decided to open a restaurant last year, he initially looked into starting an Opa! franchise in Gig Harbor, only to find that someone else had already bought the rights to the franchise in Washington state.

With the help of two friends — John Hyry and Harriet Cummings — he decided to start his own business instead.

“It’s never too late or never too early to open a business,” Bamboe said.

One important part of opening his restaurant was that it remain a family affair. Owning his own business means that Bamboe still has the flexibility to spend time with his daughter. He picks her up from school each day.

He also pays respect to his own heritage by using a silhouette of his mother’s profile as the business’ logo.

But he also wanted Ikonos to dispel myths about Greek food. For one, Bamboe stressed there’s more to Greek food than gyros and pita sandwiches stuffed with roasted meat.

“All people know is gyros, gyros, gyros,” he said.

Ikonos specializes in souvlaki, a traditional type of Greek fast food where pieces of meat are seasoned-grilled on skewers. The meat — chicken, beef, pork, lamb or shrimp — can be served with side dishes, such as rice pilaf and salad, or stuffed in pita wraps with vegetables and tzatziki yogurt sauce.

The meat in souvlaki is more tender and of better quality than the meat in gyros, Bamboe said.

“If souvlaki is steak, then gyro (meat) is hamburger,” he said.

Bamboe wanted to make sure the food at Ikonos, which means “image” in Greek, was served fast while maintaining a high quality. The food is all trans-fat free, and 95 percent of the items on the menu are cooked in extra virgin olive oil.

Ikonos’ cook, Yanni Thomakos, said the food is also simple, which means it appeals to most people.

“Olive oil, feta, garlic and lemon juice — those are the main ingredients,” said Thomakos, 19, who grew up in Greece.

The menu also includes items like domalthes, grape leaves stuffed with rice and topped with feta, and spanokopita, filo dough filled with feta and spinach.

Bamboe also included less-traditionally Greek items, like French fries and gyro wraps made with tortillas instead of pita, for kids and customers who may have never tried Greek food before.

The menu seems to be a success, and Bamboe hopes to expand Ikonos with franchised locations around the Pacific Northwest.

“Business is good,” he said. “We try to accommodate everybody, and we’ve had no complaints yet.”

Ikonos Real Greek Souvlaki

Ikonos is located at 4920 Point Fosdick Drive NW in Gig Harbor. The restaurant offers both lunch and dinner menus. Call 253-858-7070 or visit www.ikonosfood.com for more information.