Columbia. Brothers. The Voyager. Goody’s. Rattler’s. Prime Cut.

What do these have in common? They’re restaurants that have been open in Thunder Bay and various communities along Lake Superior.

What ties them together? Tax Callianteris, a Greek immigrant who found his calling in the Northern Ontario restaurant business.

“It’s a little complicated,” he says of the web of eateries he’s been involved with, stretching from Wawa to the Lakehead. “We came into business to buy old restaurants, re-build and sell them. Sometimes we close, we open.”

Despite a journey that took him from a village in Greece to the booming capital of Athens and then the rugged North Shore, the spirit of entrepreneurship runs deep. When Tax came to Canada in 1980 it was to join his brother, Alex, who was working at a coffee shop in White River. After the duo bought the business, they moved to Wawa, then Marathon, then bought another one in Schreiber, then opened a second on the peninsula. At one time, they operated five restaurants. (A decade ago Alex re-located to Alberta.)

Along the way, Tax married a girl from Marathon and they moved to Thunder Bay in 1994, again working as restauranteurs. Eventually they decided to open a Mediterranean-flavoured restaurant. Wife Charlene ran Melizana while Tax was at Eekos Modern Home furnishings on Red River Road. After a dozen years, he closed that store to dedicate his efforts to Melizana.

“I’m very happy now,” Tax says in his Greek-tinged accent. “Don’t have to travel anymore. Before I had to travel three, four times a month, from Thunder Bay driving to Wawa, coming back.”

Now nine years at Melizana, Charlene looks after the front of house, welcoming guests and overseeing staff. Oldest son George works there full-time and younger son Gabriel has helped out.

As for Tax, the question of what he does elicits a laughing response: “What I don’t do is the question to ask!”

Tax’s contributions are in the kitchen, preparing meals as well as ordering supplies, along with keeping up with the paperwork.

He concedes he’s happiest in the kitchen.

“Cooking is my relaxation time because I don’t think about anything else,” he says.