TV Restaurants

What Happened to Pappas Restaurant? (Benicia, CA)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Pappas Restaurant has closed — confirmed via beniciaheraldonline.com, March 2013.

Primary source
beniciaheraldonline.com ·
Secondary source
Yelp ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The Benicia Herald reported that owner Mike Anestasios would close Pappas Restaurant for good, citing an oversaturated local dining market roughly a year after its Restaurant: Impossible renovation.

  • Season / episode Season 3, Episode 9
  • Original air date
  • Address 1654 E 2nd St, Benicia, CA 94510

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

Pappas Restaurant, a Greek family restaurant at 1654 East 2nd Street in Benicia, California, appeared on Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) in an episode that aired May 9, 2012. As shown in the episode, owner Mike Anastasios ran the business with his sons Nicolas and Andreas, and the restaurant was struggling with an aging look, a cluttered menu, and friction among family members working in the kitchen together.

Chef Robert Irvine and his team spent two days and about ten thousand dollars redesigning the dining room and rebuilding the menu around a more focused set of Greek dishes, aiming to give the family a clearer identity in a crowded local dining market.

For a period after the show, business improved: an update from the Food Network reported a meaningful increase in profits in the months following the renovation. According to the Benicia Herald, however, the couple running day-to-day operations also faced personal health setbacks around this time that made it harder to sustain the changes. The Benicia Herald reported that regular customers missed several of the restaurant's original dishes that had been dropped in the makeover, and that bringing those items back took longer than the owners wanted.

In spring 2013, according to the Benicia Herald, Anastasios announced Pappas would close for good. He told the paper that Benicia, a city of under 30,000 people, had grown to more than 80 restaurants, leaving too small a pool of diners for his business to sustain itself, and that a last-minute plan to refinance the restaurant's building fell through over a parking-space shortfall. Anastasios, then 78, said he planned to retire rather than reopen elsewhere. A Yelp listing for Pappas Restaurant at the East 2nd Street address is marked permanently closed, with an update dated August 2026, consistent with the restaurant's 2013 closure.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 3, Episode 9
Original air date
Episode title
Pappas Restaurant
What was featured
redesign of a family-run Greek restaurant in a crowded local market
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Pappas Restaurant

Frequently asked questions

Is Pappas Restaurant still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Pappas Restaurant has closed — confirmed via beniciaheraldonline.com, March 2013.

What happened to Pappas Restaurant after Restaurant: Impossible?

Pappas Restaurant, a Greek family restaurant at 1654 East 2nd Street in Benicia, California, appeared on Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) in an episode that aired May 9, 2012. As of September 2026, Pappas Restaurant has closed — confirmed via beniciaheraldonline.com, March 2013.

Is Pappas Restaurant permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Pappas Restaurant has closed — confirmed via beniciaheraldonline.com, March 2013. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Pappas Restaurant located?

1654 E 2nd St, Benicia, CA 94510. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant: Impossible featured Pappas Restaurant?

Season 3, Episode 9 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired May 9, 2012. The episode is titled “Pappas Restaurant”.

Did the makeover last at Pappas Restaurant?

The episode first aired May 9, 2012. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 14 years later —: As of September 2026, Pappas Restaurant has closed — confirmed via beniciaheraldonline.com, March 2013.

Is Pappas Restaurant still using the Restaurant: Impossible menu or branding?

As shown in the episode, owner Mike Anastasios ran the business with his sons Nicolas and Andreas, and the restaurant was struggling with an aging look, a cluttered menu, and friction among family members working in the kitchen together. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
1654 E 2nd St, Benicia, CA 94510
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

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Sources

  • beniciaheraldonline.com — http://beniciaheraldonline.com/breaking-news-pappas-restaurant-to-close/
  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/pappas-restaurant-benicia

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