TIMONIUM, Md. — A D.C. ice cream brand with deep Baltimore roots is making its way back home, and the story behind it is as rich as the flavors.
Chrys Kefalas, founder of Yala Greek Ice Cream, grew up with a taste for the creamy, tangy Greek-style ice cream he loved back home. When he couldn't find it in the United States, he decided to make it himself.
"My family taught me the art of heartfelt hospitality," Kefalas said.
Now, for the first time, Kefalas is bringing Yala Greek Ice Cream from Washington, D.C., to Costas Inn — his family's beloved Baltimore restaurant.
"It's just really special to bring it all home to where my restaurant life, my food and beverage life really started," Kefalas said.
Costas Inn has been a Baltimore institution for 55 years. Costas Triantafillos — Kefalas' godfather and father of Peter Costas Triantafillos — opened the Dundalk location in 1971 after immigrating from Greece.
"My dad came from Greece when he was 15 with $5 in his pocket and he worked with his uncle in Sparrows Point," Peter Costas Triantafillos said.
The restaurant has built its reputation on signature dishes rooted in Maryland tradition.
"We have our Maryland crab, our cream of crab. We have our crab cake egg rolls with a sweet chili Thai sauce, our jumbo lump crab cakes that's been the staple of Costas Inn for 55 years," Triantafillos said.
Last year, the family opened a second location at the fairgrounds in Timonium. But the celebratory opening came alongside profound loss.
"My dad passed three weeks before we opened the second location. This restaurant was his vision. He was a horse guy. He was very familiar with the racetrack. And he really was excited about opening this up, so he saw all the renovations. He saw everything up to the point. Three weeks before we opened, he didn't see the people," Triantafillos said.
The family is also grieving another loss. This summer, Kefalas lost his father, Michael Panagiotis Kefalas.
"My dad worked with Chrys's dad for 55 years, my uncle," Triantafillos said. "And just remembering what our dads meant to us and where they put us at this point in life for us to keep going and just living the legacy of both of them."
Now, that legacy has a sweet homecoming, bringing Yala to Costas Inn at the Maryland State Fair.
"We've got Greek yogurt flavors with that tang, that brightness," Kefalas said.
Chrys says they use A2 dairy, which makes it easier to digest while still allowing it to be indulgent and full of flavor. The brand's top seller is Mornings with Thea — a Greek yogurt and orange preserve flavor. And Kefalas' personal favorite carries a meaning all its own.
"Yia mas. It means to your health in Greek, and that has cherries from Patras, Greece that we import. It's really special," Kefalas said.
