Every restaurant has an intriguing story of humble beginnings to complement its menu. For Poppi’s Anatolia, the undertaking of an energetic traveler who settled in a small Northwest city, the story is a Eugene-sized take on the American dream.
Far from Ellis Island and roughly 30 years after the influx of U.S. immigration slowed, a small woman who simply went by Poppi moved to Eugene. Her life began on a sisal plantation in Tanzania before she moved to London, married a Greek native and settled in Eugene. Such an irregular combination of life experiences brought her to open Poppi’s Anatolia, a restaurant specializing in traditional Greek and Indian dishes.
“There were no Greek or Indian restaurants in town when Anatolia first opened,” said George Schaefer, who now co-owns the restaurant with Diantha Hull after Poppi retired. “So we decided to do both Greek and Indian.”
Thirty-five years later, Poppi’s multicultural vision has evolved into the now rightly titled Poppi’s Anatolia located on 10th Avenue and Willamette Street in downtown Eugene. Greek and Indian tapestries adorn the white walls and ceiling, anchored by large wooden beams, while a small 3-inch-by-5-inch black and white photo of the creator hangs near a fish tank in the middle of the dining area.
Aside from two location changes, the restaurant has strayed little from Poppi’s original concept, which is exactly what the current owners prefer.
“We do specialties that customers and our staff recommend, but our menu is the same one Poppi designed,” Schaefer said. “It’s all stuff we inherited.”
The menu has been left relatively unchanged for good reason. Each culinary selection is infused with tradition, cooked up by one of the two owners following Poppi’s recipes.
Blending hearty Greek plates with spicy Indian cuisine creates a diverse combination. Any night at Anatolia can include a sampling of a fresh, organic Greek salad, mixed with chicken curry or a gyros plate.
“I’ve had everything to eat here and still eat the food after working here for two and a half years,” salad cook Matt Terada said.
The restaurant runs under a lot of the rules Poppi introduced when she ran the restaurant, and no one at the restaurant has a defined position. Everyone washes dishes and helps prep the food.
“I like everything about working here,” said Mercedes Woodford, who cooks and waits tables.
As an ode to the founder, every Sunday night is “Poppi’s night,” where the restaurant only offers completely traditional Greek dishes ranging from Gharides Saganaki to Egyptian Moussaka with an array of other Greek plates customers may not recognize.
Now 70, Poppi resides in Eugene once again, after living briefly in Greece. Although removed from the restaurant that bears her name, Poppi’s creation stands fully intact with her recipes and ideologies.
And though the story behind Poppi’s Anatolia is something born out of the early 1900s, the restaurant has no plans to change anytime soon.
“We intend on keeping things the same,” Schaefer said. “We change the flowers and occasionally redo the tables, but that’s about it.”
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