Pauline Eleftheriou
Featured Woman
September 2010

Pauline is thrilled to have been nominated as a Featured Woman in this month’s issue!

Pauline grew up in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is from a small tight knit family consisting of her mother Aspasia, her father Nicholas, and her older brother George. Her dad was from the “old country” Greece, and immigrated to the United States after WWII. Here he met, married and started a family settling in Philadelphia.

Her life revolved around the restaurant business, but her mom tried to make things somewhat normal. Pauline took ballet classes, Greek classes (mandatory in her house), and attended George Washington High School in Northeast Philadelphia and American school in Athens Greece when she lived abroad.

She lived a simple life centered on the home and the business her father established in 1960; the first St George Restaurant at the corner of 19TH and Arch Street in Philadelphia.  Pauline says that if you ask anyone from Philly if they have heard of St George’s Restaurant, you will get a 98% resounding “yes”.  The family businesses were based on a formula of good food, reasonably priced, and open 24/7. In the past 50 years the family opened 3 different chains in the city.  To say Pauline is well versed in the restaurant business would be an understatement!

Her love for this industry has culminated with opening the Delsea Diner in Millville, New Jersey. You have to love the business to venture into it in these tough economic times. Pauline says that over the past 15 months, it has been her most challenging venture to date. She adheres to her father’s formula of a clean establishment with great food at reasonable prices along with good customer service. On a visit recently, it was evident that she is serious about the formula. The Delsea Diner was very clean, the Greek Omelet I ordered was very good and the price was right.  The attentiveness of the staff and Pauline was perfect…enough to know that you are valued as a customer, but not so much you feel overwhelmed by constant interruptions.

Pauline’s family is involved in the business and her husband Telly is the Baker and Master Chef. The building is a dream come true with sufficient room to accomplish some of her long term goals. She has the diner, the pub, and banquet facilities all under one roof. Currently her husband is working on an updated menu and a venue in the “Crystal Room.” There is a rumor it involves seafood and pasta. Pauline invites everyone to stop in and say “YIASOU” which is hello in Greek.

In her personal life she is blessed with a son Paul and a daughter Sia , who has given her 3 wonderful grandchildren; Nicholas, Zander, and Adrianna.  While she enjoys her business pursuits, she is still first and foremost, a wife, mother, and grandmother.  She welcomes interaction in the community and has been involved in many local charities, food drives, and raising money for cancer. Pauline has also been involved with the armed forces collecting items to send to the troops overseas.  She hopes that her contributions make a difference in people’s lives.

Between the family, the diner’s hours, and community outreach, Pauline is extremely busy and at most is able to catch an occasional movie. She would like to visit Greece sometime in the future.  Pauline is a very special Greek girl from the city of "brotherly love" and is thankful for all of her wonderful customers and friends.  For anyone who does not know her, she is always ready to meet new people and make new friends.

Pauline is the owner of The Delsea Diner, 1701 North 2nd Street,Millville, NJ 08332.

She may be contacted at 856-825-2525 and dinrgirl@aol.com