This article can be found at Matsu-Valley Frontiersman
June 22, 2008


PALMER — When Bill Karagounis first opened up shop in 1978, he could count the cars rolling by Pizza Delphi’s window.

“There were five cars to an hour in the ’70s and ’80s,” Karagounis said. Then, the corner where his Greek restaurant sat was situated in a small agriculture town. Parents would bring in their families for dinner at his restaurant at a time when gasoline was 78 cents a gallon.

“Now, they’re with their own children and sometimes grandchildren,” Karagounis said. “I came as a young man and now I’m old.”

This week marks the 30th year Pizza Delphi has been open for business. Following a stint working for his cousin at Pizza Paradisos in Kenai in 1976, Karagounis and his brother, Tony, came to Palmer a year later to open up their own place. Together they built a business based on honesty, bountiful portions and original recipes.

“We give plenty,” said Kiki, Karagounis’ wife. “We are not stingy.”

Bill and Kiki, who married in 1990, have run the popular eatery together since Tony left in 1991.

And the business the two have continued to run over the years is something Karagounis is proud of. Karagounis said between Pizza Delphi’s dine-in, takeout and delivery services, the restaurant serves at least 150 to 200 people a night.

“Without the people coming in here, you have nothing,” Karagounis said. “They put food on my plate, really.”

He said the Palmer community’s close-knit atmosphere and neighborly residents always made him feel a part of a larger family.

While that may be true today after 30 years of feeding locals, Karagounis he had to prove some doubters wrong by making a living from his restaurant.

“People said, ‘You’re not going to make it in here,’” Karagounis said.  

Yet signature homemade dishes like Greek bread with feta cheese and buttery-crust pizza with no pizza sauce have kept Pizza Delphi relevant on the Valley dining scene.

“The crust just tastes better,” Karagounis said, adding that his pizza crust is packed with more flavor when buttered. “I don’t even like pizza sauce.”

Karagounis said he buys fresh, local ingredients from farmers whenever possible.

Despite Pizza Delphi’s decades of success, Karagounis said he has no plans to expand to other locations.

“One is enough. I don’t want to get greedy,” he said.

Whatever the next 30 years holds for Pizza Delphi, Karagounis said he is optimistic his place will continue to be a part of the Palmer family.


Contact Derek Casanovas at derek.casanovas@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.

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