Mediterranean eatery takes over Pelican Room

By Max Sullivan

Hampton Union, October 23, 2015

[The following article is courtesy of the Hampton Union and Seacoast Online.]

Restaurateur John Tinios outside where construction of a three-season deck for his new
Mediterranean nightclub, "Club Tinos" is underway. [Rich Beauchesne photo]

HAMPTON — Hampton’s newest restaurant and three-season deck will open this fall above the Galley Hatch, offering Greek wine and cuisine for Route 1 diners.

Club Tinos, the lounge and deck whose space was built this past spring and summer, will open its doors this November. The new restaurant will offer Mediterranean wines and dishes to those seeking a local laid-back nightspot, owner John Tinios said.

The restaurant will be completely separate from the Galley Hatch, Tinios said. The restaurateur owns Popovers in Portsmouth and Epping in addition to the Galley Hatch.

The main restaurant will be placed in the former location of the Pelican Room, a 1940s-themed nightclub open from the 1980s to 2002. The new deck was constructed adjacent to that room, overlooking Lafayette Road. The two spaces combine to seat roughly 120, Tinios said.

The deck, dubbed on the Tinos Facebook page as “#TinosTower,” will feature an elevator. It also will have retractable sides on its windows, allowing the section to stay open until temperatures reach below 35 degrees, Tinios said. The indoor section will be open year-round.

Tinios said the contemporary Greek cuisine offered at the new restaurant will offer a variety of dishes and salads that include fresh fish, lamb, chicken and rabbit.

Tinios first planned to open a Greek deck restaurant with his father before he died. He said his family comes from Tinos, an island off the Greek coast in the Aegean Sea. When Tinios’ great, great grandfather, John Michael Tinos, immigrated to the United States, his last name was accidentally changed to Tinios at Ellis Island.

Tinos the restaurant is Tinios’ tribute to his great, great grandfather and his family heritage.

“This has been kind of a dream come true,” Tinios said. “Something my father and I, before he died, talked about doing something like this.”

Tinios took a trip to Tinos this past summer with 22 of his first cousins. He wanted to see the island before he opened the restaurant named for it, and he said it was beautiful. He also filmed footage from the island on the trip that he plans to have playing on a screen inside the deck restaurant.

The new restaurant was also inspired by outdoor decks built in Portsmouth and Newburyport, Mass., two communities he said have strong Greek hospitality communities.

In addition to Greek drink and cuisine, Tinios said the restaurant will offer wines from other parts of the globe, including Spain, Portugal, Israel and California.

Eventually, the restaurant will feature its own open kitchen, Tinios said. Until then, the restaurant will be served from the Galley Hatch kitchen.

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