There’s something about a neighborhood bar and restaurant — when it’s done right, it can offer more than just good food and drinks, but a true place to land, too. For Carolyn and Danny Dominguez, nothing says neighborhood joint like a taverna, the Greek word for, as you could likely guess, tavern.
“We really wanted to open a local restaurant that could turn into a neighborhood tavern in our part of town,” Carolyn Dominguez said. “We wanted to offer our neighbors something different than Taco Bell and KFC.”
As the name Top of the Tap suggests, the Dominguez’ were initially looking to open a craft beer bar and restaurant. When they discovered Greek restaurant Opa Cafe for sale, they pivoted and combined their craft beer idea with a Greek cafe. The couple befriended the owners of Opa and even learned a number of recipes from Opa owner Tom Tsivelekidis before opening Top of the Tap last August.
In addition to learning more about Greek flavor profiles and foods from Tsivelekidis, Dominguez said she and Danny researched the decor and vibes of traditional tavernas, adding warmer elements to the interior (as opposed to the traditional coastal blues and whites of many Greek spots) and created a bar for people to “come in and hang out.”
“We’re pushing people to dine in more,” said Dominguez, who noted that Opa had been a takeout spot for the past three years. With Top of the Tap conveniently located off of Dorchester Road, Dominguez hopes that more and more people will start stopping in and staying a while.
Filling a need
Dominguez said she and her husband decided to keep the restaurant’s phone number the same, capitalizing on folks who were used to calling in for takeout Greek food. Dominguez laughed when recalling how the first takeout callers came into the newly renovated restaurant and realized they were grabbing food from an entirely new place.
“They’d come back and bring their whole families,” she said. “So many people had been dying for that. There are not any other full-service Greek restaurants in Summerville.”
It’s no surprise that fast-growing Summerville would be looking for more dining options; according to Dorchester County Economic Development, since 2000, “it has grown the fastest of the state’s large and medium-size municipalities by an immense 63%.”
“We want more real restaurants where you can [sit down with] your own little community,” Dominguez said. “We’re building up a nice base of regulars, which is exactly what we wanted.”
Summerville joins the rest of the tri-county area’s suburbs in its ever-growing need for solid, family-friendly restaurants. Folks are more often choosing to stay in their own neighborhoods for a night out, rather than make the trek downtown.
In that vein, Dominguez is starting to offer more events and activities at Top of the Tap, from wine and food pairings to wreath-making classes during the holiday season. “People have to travel downtown to paint and sip. … We’re only five minutes away from their house,” Dominguez said. “You can actually go and do something on a weeknight.”
And, Dominguez, added, you can actually get some high quality eats, too.
“It’s feel-good food,” Dominguez said. “There are a lot of vegetarian options, or you can go full-out carnivore with lamb gyros and steak souvlaki. Our guys are prepping up fresh vegetables every day.”
From spanakopita, a savory spinach pie, to classic gyros and chicken souvlaki, Top of the Tap’s menu is small but mighty, designed to keep things simple and fresh. And with 25-plus beers available both on draft and in bottles and cans, Top of the Tap is staying true to its craft beer designation, too.
“We’re family people,” Dominguez said. “We wanted a place where families can go for a decent meal. We’re doing everything super fresh, made from scratch and cooked to order.”
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