Interview with Ebony Gooden, owner of Mykonos Street Grill

Ebony Gooden: I opened a Greek restaurant in October 2020, during the pandemic, in Calgary, Alberta.

Alex: What is the most popular dish people order the most from your menu?

Ebony: That’s hard! One of the most popular items that we created ourselves is called spanakopita.

Ebony: It’s spinach pie, but we adjusted it by making it as an egg roll, so we put it in the fryer. It’s crispy on the outside and soft inside, with the cheese… So delicious!

Alex: I read a Savour Calgary article that your husband Aki is a chef, plus his father used to be a restaurant owner of a restaurant with the same name, Mykonos. Can you elaborate?

Ebony: My husband’s first name is really Stamatis, Aki for short. Thank you! Ha. His parents opened a restaurant called Mykonos Greek Restaurant, but it was shut down because his father passed away. His mom struggled with the business, so she decided to close it.

But Aki wanted to reopen it, so my husband and I decided to go and open the restaurant, and we agreed that when we get stable income, I can focus on my art and we could do both at the same time.

Alex: How have you been handling it during Covid-19?

Ebony: Really, our original plan was to open it in February (2020), but at that time we heard about the coronavirus out there--but it hadn’t hit Calgary yet. We thought it would be fine, but then it impacted Calgary and we realized it was serious. We waited, and we honestly thought it would be temporary, but… It wasn’t short. It ended up lasting a long time, and is still happening now. But we already invested our money in that purchase, so not opening it would mean we’re not making income and we would be losing money, so that pushed us into opening in October. It was a huge challenge, but incredible. The Black and Deaf community came through to support us, and we’re so grateful for that.

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Alex: You have a restaurant, yes, but you’re an artist too. You take photographs and make digital art, among other skills, plus you’re an activist.

What gives you the energy to do all these things?

Ebony: Honestly, I ask myself that question every time I go to bed. I’m like… How? What am I doing? Why am I doing this? But the bottom line is representation. Because I remember when I grew up, I had no representation. Well, there was one - CJ Jones, Black Deaf comedian. But that’s only one person. I didn’t see other Black Deaf representation, comedians, actresses, business owners… I grew up hating myself. I always wished my hair flowed. I wished I was white like others. I wished for many things, and now after I’ve grown up I want to provide that representation for young generations so they don’t feel the same way I did when I was younger. I want them to look up to me and see more representation, resources and access, and know that you are beautiful and that you can do anything you want.

Ebony: Make sure you follow my page on Twitter, it’s @ebonyrgooden. And of course, follow my restaurant @mykonosstreetgrill on both Facebook and Instagram. It doesn’t matter if you’re not in Calgary; follow, comment, and like. That will help a lot.