Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal | October 1, 2018 | wbjournal.com F O C U S T H E F O O D & D R I N K I S S U E Recovering from a drug scandal F or nearly a year, two vacant restaurants on Shrewsbury Street and Water Street offered a prime opportunity for a restaurateur to come in and seize on the momentum of Worcesters culinary scene. Now, both restaurants are under new ownership aer the federal govern- ment agreed to transfer ownership of the properties formerly home to e Usual and Blackstone Tap. e 166 Shrewsbury St. site for- merly home to e Usual and e Chameleon was sold to the owners of Meze Greek Tapas Bar and Grille for $525,000 on Sept. 25. For nearly a year, the vacant space at 166 Shrewsbury St. offered Greek Meze Tapas and Panos Georgiadis a prime opportunity to move a few doors down and expand. Seized over drug money laundering According to property records, Meze 166 Shrewsbury Street LLC, an entity controlled by Meze owner and Panos' father Sotirios Georgiadis, purchased the property for $525,000. at's $14,000 less than what the government's asking price of $539,000 aer it seized the property from Kevin Perry, the former owner of the Usual and Blackstone Tap who pleaded guilty to operating a drug money laundering scheme using those establishments. e government will now pay Worcester-based Cornerstone Bank $415,000 aer both parties agreed to the sum in August. e bank in July filed documents claiming it was owed more than $444,000 in prin - cipal, interest and other fees due to the delinquent sta- tus of a $375,000 loan. Perry was convicted in May and sen- tenced to 14 years for selling opioids and laundering the proceeds of those sales through Worcester restaurants and other properties. e Usual closed in spring 2017 aer Perry was charged, but his wife, Stacey Gala, reopened the restaurant as the Chameleon just a few months aer, that summer. at restaurant lasted until only November, and Gala and former business partner Joseph Herman were charged in February with conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court documents filed in August, Gala is seeking a jury trial, while Herman will likely resolve his case by way of a plea. New Shrewsbury Street plans e Greek family-owned business now seeks to revitalize the vacant restaurant by transplanting its operation to its neighboring building but with a more upscale vibe, said the younger Georgiadis. e focus will still be on Greek tapas, but the restaurant aims to add some higher-end plates, a larger wine selec- tion and imported beer from the Greek island Santorini. All together, the space is about 800 BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Meze Greek Tapas Bar and Grille (left) will move a few doors down to the space formerly occupied by The Usual and The Chameleon (right) after the federal government sold the property to the Greek family-owned restaurant. Sotirios Georgiadis Two Worcester restaurant properties seized in an opioid and money laundering scheme now have new owners seeking fresh beginnings

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