Curt and Jen Whitesell met in a restaurant. And now, the couple owns one.
The Whitesells partnered with Bob and Michelle Beauchamp to purchase the Greek’s Pizzeria franchise at 231 Park St., Westfield in December 2020. The previous owner decided to move to Atlanta, Ga., for family reasons and offered the business to Curt Whitesell.
The Whitesells decided to participate in the partnership because of their vast experience in the restaurant industry.
“Jen is a phenomenal restaurant operator, and I have been in restaurants half my life,” Curt said. “I just like the growth opportunity for it.”
Jen has been a general manager at several restaurants but always worked for somebody else.
“One of the problems was, I was always working for someone else, and I was giving up family time for someone else, so I thought this was a cool fit,” Jen said.
The pizzeria has turned into a family affair. The Whitesells’ two children, Mac, 14, and Kaleb, 12, help out at the restaurant.
“They are eager,” Jen said. “Kaleb is just dying to be old enough to get in and get his hands on some pizza dough. With Curt and I being in restaurants and our love for cooking, both of our kids enjoy food and restaurants and playing with it. I think they’re psyched about it.”
The Whitesells and Beauchamps frequented Greek’s prior to owning it. The Beauchamps still serve as the landlords for the building and several other businesses on Park Street.
“There’s 37 (Greek’s Pizzerias) in Indiana, and they’re highly successful,” Bob said. “They spend a lot of time with their franchisees. The original Greek’s is still living up in Muncie. It’s just a really progressive organization.”
“It’s small enough that it still feels like family,” Michelle added.
Greek’s Pizzeria’s dining room is open. The restaurant serves beer and wine and is waiting to receive a liquor license to offer other alcoholic beverages.
For more, visit eatgreeks.com.
