DATE: Thursday, June 19, 1997               TAG: 9706180178

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: ON THE TOWN 

TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW 

SOURCE: Sam Martinette 
                                            LENGTH:   78 lines

AZALEA INN GOING STRONG AT 40

A best selling book in the 1950s was ``Life Begins at Forty,'' and that's certainly the case for the venerable Azalea Inn on Little Creek Road. Turning 40 has found the popular eatery stronger than ever.

Takis Karangelen and his nephew and partner Vassilos Karangelen opened the Time Out Sports Bar last summer.

``It is a dream of mine come true,'' Takis said of the massive room adjacent to the Azalea Inn.

Equipped with big screen TVs for viewing sports events and dozens of tables to accommodate patrons, the room pumped new life into an establishment already boasting regular customers who date back to its beginnings.

Opened in 1957 by Louis Karangelen as the Azalea Grill, it was one of the first tenants of Roosevelt Gardens Shopping Center.

``We opened as a luncheonette,'' Louis told me in 1988. ``My brother Teddy was my partner. I worked the grill and we used to sell hamburgers, hot dogs and some simple daily specials,'' he said.

Louis is retired now, and his kid brother Takis, who joined the business in 1972, had a pretty good idea. Why not add pizza to the Azalea Inn menu?

When a shop next to the restaurant went out of business, the brothers took it over, adding beer, Greek dinners, spaghetti and the pizza that has now become a Little Creek Road legend. That was only the first expansion.

``When I came in here with my brother Lou, it was a very small neighborhood place,'' Takis recalled.

The size has increased fivefold, and the menu items grown in number and sophistication, and even some of the faces have changed as time has taken its toll, but some original customers are still around, and in many cases their offspring, as well.

``That's why I find it so beautiful,'' Takis said. ``I remember customers who used to be kids who now come in with their kids.''

Head Cook Diane Shaw agreed. She started at the Azalea Inn 30 years ago. ``I see them and remember when they were babies, and I say to myself, `That should tell you something!' '' Shaw said with a laugh.

City Councilman Randy Wright's memories of the Azalea Inn go back to his youth. ``The first thing I remember about Roosevelt Gardens Shopping Center as a youngster - I think I was 13 - was going to the Azalea Inn for a pizza,'' he said. ``To this day my wife and I walk or ride our bikes there twice a week to eat. It's a laid back, family place, and I think that's the key to its success.''

``Consistency,'' said Takis Karangelen, ``that's why we have lasted.'' A look at the menu tells the tale: the Azalea Inn pizza comes in three sizes. A small plain pie is $5.95, $7.95 for a medium, and $9.95 for the large. A combination pizza with two additions will cost $7.95/$10.95/ and $12.95. Italian specialties (served with garlic bread and a salad) include spaghetti with meatballs, sausage or mushrooms ($6.75); lasagna, or veal Parmesan ($7.45); and linguini with gulf shrimp ($9.95).

Greek entrees (served with salad, rice pilaf, or boiled potatoes and a vegetable) include pastitsio (seasoned ground sirloin and macaroni baked in a rich milk and butter-flour sauce, $7.45); souvlaki (chunks of pork tenderloin in a pita with the traditional tzatziki sauce and fries, $5.65); Pikilia for two (chicken, chunks of pork loin, sliced gyro meat, spanakopita, feta, pepperoncini, black olives, boiled potatoes and a Greek salad, $19.95); and a Greek-style pork or chicken kebab (chunks of marinated meat or fowl on a skewer, with tomatoes, onions and green peppers, $7.95). There's more, including deli sandwiches and a children's menu. All the result of 40 years of fine tuning. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE

Vassilos Karangelen, left, and Takis Karangelen are partners in the

Azalea Inn in Roosevelt Gardens Shopping Center.

Graphic

AT A GLANCE

What: Azalea Inn & Time Out Sports Bar

Where: 2344 E. Little Creek Road, 587-4649

Food: Greek, Italian and American; full ABC

Prices: entrees $5.75-$10.45

Hours: 11 to 1 a.m., Monday-Thursday; 11-2 a.m., Friday-Saturday