Daphne’s California Greek

As one of the first Greek chains in Southern California, and perhaps the most successful at its peak in the mid-2000s, Daphne’s had a long way to fall. Previously known as Daphne’s Greek Cafe and founded in Los Angeles, it operated out of numerous plaza locations across the United States, serving actually solid gyros and kabobs in restaurants that paralleled then-popular Rubio’s Mexican restaurants in size and simplicity. Order at a counter, grab your food, and sit down in a spacious dining room to eat.

Daphne’s went bankrupt in 2010, was purchased and relaunched as Daphne’s California Greek, and saw its previously compelling menu and recipes diluted by a made-for-profit refresh: what the new owners described as “a ‘hybrid’ of California-meets-Greek cuisine, with an emphasis on freshness.” Prices went up, quality went down, and the once-busy restaurants emptied out.