THREE GENERATIONS.
ONE FAMILY RESTAURANT.
Pavilion has been part of Greensboro since 1984, but our family’s restaurant story began long before that.
It started with Spiro “Steve” Nixon and his wife, Katina Nixon.
Born in Viniani, Evrytania, Greece, Steve came to the United States at just 13 years old and eventually found work at Mama Leone’s in New York City. While working there, he watched the cooks closely and gradually taught himself how to cook.
In the early 1950s, Steve was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After completing his service, he came to Greensboro, where he met and fell in love with Katina, a young Greek woman from Samos, Greece.
Together, they opened Flamenco Restaurant in Greensboro in 1969, laying the foundation for what would eventually become Pavilion.
Becoming Pavilion
In 1984, the family opened Pavilion Restaurant.
A few years later Steve and Katina’s son, Phillip Nixon, took over. Phillip didn’t reinvent the restaurant. He focused on getting the basics right.
He hired better people, brought more organization into the business, worked to keep the food consistent, paid closer attention to the numbers, and spent time out on the floor talking with guests alongside Katina.
The idea was simple:
Good food. Good service. Reasonable prices. And do it consistently.
By the early 1990s, word began to spread and Pavilion started growing quickly. But what really made Pavilion special was the kind of restaurant it became. It wasn’t just a place people came for special occasions. It became an everyday restaurant.
Many guests came several times a week. They knew the staff. We knew them. They had their favorite meals, their favorite tables, and their routines. Those regulars became the heart of Pavilion, and many of those families continued coming back for decades.
The Third Generation
In 2023, Steve and Katina’s grandson, Stefano, purchased Pavilion from Phillip, becoming the third generation of the family to own the restaurant.
Having worked alongside Steve, Katina, and Phillip for many years, Stefano grew up learning the restaurant from the people who built it and carried it forward.
It’s no secret the restaurant industry has changed dramatically since Pavilion first opened in 1984, especially in the years following COVID. As Pavilion enters its next chapter, the challenge is to keep evolving without losing the things that made people love it in the first place.
Good food. Consistency. Genuine hospitality.
Our goal isn’t to recreate Pavilion exactly as it was 20, 30, or 40 years ago. It’s to carry the best of it forward—building a restaurant longtime guests still recognize and love, while creating something the next generation will want to make part of their lives too.
More than 40 years after Pavilion opened, we’re proud to continue serving Greensboro and grateful for every guest who chooses to join us.
