Nikitas was born and raised in small village in Peloponnesus, Greece.  His family raised money by bartering goods such as potatoes and olives.  Life was very difficult and the future was bleak.  In hopes of making a better life for themselves, the family decided to make the journey to America.  “It was exciting and frightening at the same time,” Nick says, “it was either make it, or return to nothing… and returning to nothing was not an option.”  After Nikitas was finished serving 2 years in the military, they made their journey to America and set foot in Bellingham in 1969, where he went straight to work at Intalco Co.

Life was beginning to look up for the 23 year old.  He was working hard, saving his money and learning the English language little by little.  But something was missing.  He and his older brother Nicholas would find themselves tossing around the idea of opening up their own business, a pizza restaurant, an American favorite they loved to eat and couldn’t get enough of.  They kept working hard at Intalco, saving all they had, and in 1974, opened the doors to Cascade Pizza in Sedro Woolley.  “I remember everyone telling us how crazy we were to do this when we barely even spoke English,” Nick says.  But as before, it was either make it, or return to nothing, and returning to nothing was not an option.

So Nikitas, his brother Nicholas and their wives, Tasia and Kathy, went to work. With failure absent from their minds and determination and ambition for success in the forefront, their hard work began to pay off. Nikitas opened Cascade Pizza on Meridian in Bellingham in 1978, and needless to say, it’s been his baby ever since. “As crazy as it was to begin something we knew so little about, both the business and the language, we were willing to take that chance. We knew we could take a gamble on ourselves because we knew we had what it took to succeed,” Nick says. “But beyond that, the second piece to our success lies in our community. They have believed in us, and have been so supportive of what we try to do every day with Cascade Pizza. We have made wonderful lifelong friends, and thanks to that, my dream can now be kept alive through my children.”