Zack’s Hamburgers is now closed. Here’s Charlotte’s tribute to the longstanding favorite.
At the end of business on Thursday, July 1, 2021, Zack’s Hamburgers closed its doors after about 46 years of serving customers. A few days prior, when Charlotteans began hearing of our future without this staple, customers started sending us stories about how the restaurant and the restaurant’s owners, George and Elaine Demopoulos, have had an impact on their lives.
As our city says goodbye to another restaurant that has helped paved the way for Charlotte’s food and drink scene, we wanted to share some of the memories that friends and family of Zack’s Hamburgers sent to CharlotteFive:
Prom night — with white tablecloth service
Scott Betzold, a long-time customer of Zack’s Hamburgers, sent us the following story, which he also shared on Facebook:
“Last week upon hearing the rumors of Zacks’s closing, I took my kids there for one last Zacks’s Special. It is always great to see George and Elaine and revisit a place that holds so many memories for me. George said, ‘Scott I have been looking for you — I have something I want to give you.’ He handed me this photograph that he has kept for over 30 years. This is from my HS (high school) prom night. About a month earlier I was there after school with some friends and mentioned to George that I needed to figure out a good place to take my prom date for dinner. He said, ‘Why not here?’ – the ideas started rolling. George closed a little early (back then they were open for dinner too) he set up one of the booths with a tablecloth, flowers and candles. He personally handled the table service, with one of the classic Zack’s red trays! We both had Zacks Specials with a salad appetizer. The smile on George’s face says it all! He was having just as much fun as we were!
I am like a lot of people that are quite sad to see Zack’s close for good. George poured his heart into that place. He and his whole family worked their tails off year after year. George and I talked in the parking lot some last week and I congratulated him and thanked him for all the years of memories. I told him I was excited to know he will get to kick his feet up and enjoy a very well-deserved retirement.
Charlotte is gonna miss you, George!”
“George made that night very special for us,” Betzold told CharlotteFive. “I doubt after 32 years we would remember a meal at the townhouse, much less the memories that George created for us that night.”
A second date leads to a lifetime of love
Amanda Demopoulos, George and Elaine’s daughter-in-law, sent us the following:
“My first visit to Zack’s Hamburgers was on a second date, but this was not just any second date — it was a date with the man who would eventually become my husband and whose family owned the place. It definitely was a risky move for my husband to bring a new girl around his family and the employees of a restaurant with whom he grew up working. He must have known it was the real deal.
“You know what else is the real deal? How my in-laws, George and Elaine Demopoulos, have run Zack’s Hamburgers since taking it over from George’s parents in 1990. My in-laws are some of the hardest-working folks I have ever met. Watching them work and run the restaurant over the years has made me appreciate just how difficult the restaurant business is. Long hours, hot kitchens, and standing on your feet most of the time is not for the faint-hearted. Even in such demanding conditions, George and Elaine treat their employees and customers with the same respect and compassion as they do members of their own families. I know this is why Zack’s is so special to so many of us in Charlotte.
“George and Elaine instilled their work ethic in their three sons, all of whom worked in the restaurant for many years before going off to college and starting their own careers. My husband is the person he is today because of his experience at Zack’s. I am sad that my daughter will not be able to work at Zack’s like her father, but my husband and I will do our best to instill in her the work ethic and dedication that began with her great-grandparents back in 1975.
“For so many of us, Zack’s was not only a place to get a great meal, but it was a place where so many memories were made. After the successful second date (and many others), I decided it was time for my parents to meet George and Elaine so I brought them to Zack’s. I cannot say for certain, but I am pretty sure a Zack’s Special, onion rings, and a chili dog had something to do with my parents giving their blessing. I, along with my husband and daughter, will be at Zack’s this Thursday when the doors close one last time. I will sit in the back booth near the kitchen door and think of all the memories that were made at that table.
Thank you, George and Elaine.”
Social media comments:
Readers also began posting memories and stories about the restaurant on our social media platforms.
Here are more of your memories:
“Grateful for having gotten to eat here over the last few years. Zack’s, you will be sorely missed. I hope the Demopoulos family knows how much their restaurant was loved after all of those long days, and that they enjoy their retirement. #eatlocal #supportlocal” – Lisa Dickson Curtis, via Instagram
“All the love George and Zacks team! Thank you for serving us all these years.” – Scott, via Instagram
“I will really miss this place.”–Tique Kenya, via Instagram
“Wow! When I first moved to Charlotte in mid-70s, I went there and have been going ever since. I wish them the very best!”– Ken Martin, via Instagram
“Thank you for serving Charlotte for almost 5 decades!! Wishing you and your family the best.” – Gina Strumpf, via Twitter
Editor’s note: Comments have been edited for punctuation and clarity.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 12:33 PM.
