This week a Munster institution celebrates a milestone that few restaurants have the honor to reach. Munster Gyros has been serving up burgers, hot dogs, pizza puffs, and of course, gyros to Munsterites and Region Rats from its location on Calumet Avenue for the past four decades. The shop is known throughout the Region as a place to grab good grub at a good price and has also become a time capsule of the area.
When Munster Gyros first opened in 1984, “The Terminator” and “Indiana Jones” were the blockbuster movies of the day. While people were blasting “When Doves Cry” by Prince, “Jump” by Van Halen or “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins, John Spanos and John Maranakos were putting in long hours behind the counter to provide tasty meals that all people could afford.
“We used to get there about 9 o’clock in the morning and work until 11:30 every night,” said Spanos, one of the original owners. “We used to get the football team come in right after the game and we were jammed all the way inside.”
Over the years Spanos, Maranakos and long-time employees such as Eddie Hernandez and Juan Gomez served tens of thousands of meals to those who popped into the building with the yellow sign on Calumet and Ridgeway. Many of the patrons became regular customers for decades.
“There’s a lot of good people that came into my life there. And that’s why I was able to stay at the place for so long, because you just run into great people,” Spanos said. “It’s what makes your job enjoyable. If you have good people around you, you know, you feel like it’s not even working most of the time.”
Mike Weichman was one of those longtime customers that Spanos mentioned. Weichman can recall some of his first Munster Gyros experiences.
“Probably the first time I went to Munster Gyros was when I was 5 years old. My brother is six years older than me. And I remember my mom would bring my brother to Munster Gyros to get a gyro and I would get pizza puff.”
As Weichman got older he would go to far lengths to get his lunchtime fix.
“I remember, school being called off in the winter maybe 30 years ago and one of my good friends lived near Munster Gyros.” Weichman recalled. “It was probably 10 below zero and I remember walking to the restaurant with his dog just to get a gyro.”
In 2021 the business partners were looking to sell the restaurant to someone who would carry the torch, or better yet, the gyro. Weichman heard the rumor and was immediately intrigued.
“I found out it was for sale and I jumped on that opportunity right away,” Weichman explained. “It was one of those dreams that I felt like I needed to follow. So here I am today.”
Weichman took over ownership 3 years ago and has since worked to keep as much of the original feel and flavor as possible. He has added a few items such as a Greek quesadilla and lemon rice soup and has offered catering as well. He mentions his appreciation for guidance from the previous owners.
“Most people buy businesses and the previous owners just might want to be nonexistent. In my case, both of the Johns (Spanos and Maranakos) have been very helpful throughout the last few years. I talk with them often and get their thoughts on different products.” Weichman adds their customer service has been extended to him. “They’ll actually come in and they’ll taste the tzatziki, my gyro, my fries, just to make sure they are on-point.”
Nowadays Spanos gets to pick up a tasty meal from the other side of the counter. “A few weeks back my wife said to me ‘when you go there get an extra sauce so we’ll be able to split it.’ So I brought the gyro home and she starts eating it.” Spanos related enthusiastically. “My wife says ‘oh my gosh this hasn’t changed at all.’ And you know, the funny thing is, I was eating it and I was thinking to myself damn that’s good.” Spanos continued, “You know when you work with them all day you don’t appreciate it, but when you don’t have them any more, that’s when you know how good something is.”
Weichman is now behind the counter but can still appreciate a warm pita with tender meat and housemade tzatziki sauce. He hopes he can help Munster Gyros’ legacy continue to grow for decades to come. .
