Woman of the Month

We want to celebrate the women in our community, who act as role models and demonstrate that our only limitation is our imagination.

This month we want to introduce, Toula Sakellaris, owner and operator of the Apollo Restaurant. She has been a BPW member since 1991 and continues to support the Club and its mission!  ”Over the years, I have made many friends and contacts through my membership with BPW.  I highly recommend it to any  entrepreneur,” says Toula.

Over the last forty years, the Apollo Restaurant has gained a reputation for quality food and great service, becoming Sudbury’s first choice for fine dining!  Toula Sakellaris thanks each and every customer that comes into her restaurant.  She wants to make sure that every customer understands that she and her family, including the Apollo staff, are thankful for the continued support they receive from the community.

Toula and her husband George immigrated to Canada from Greece and wanted to bring their Greek cuisine to a community that was not familiar with this type of food.  In 1970, the restaurant opened as a breakfast place, where miners would meet after a long shift at Inco and would enjoy great food together.  There have been several renovation project, the first began in 1977 at which time the restaurant became a licensed establishment.

Toula was a working mother which was fairly uncommon in the 70s and 80s, however she explains that being a mother was always her first priority.  When asked how she dealt with both her personal and professional life, she explained she always concentrated on what she was doing and she’d make sure everything was balanced.  When she was at home, she would focus whole-heartedly on the home and when at the restaurant, she would do the same.  George would often take care of the kitchen and Toula was in charge of the front end of the restaurant.  For the last 20 years, Toula has been managing the restaurant on her own.  She maintains the bookkeeping, the kitchen and the front end.   Toula prides herself on the fact that everything is homemade and prepared fresh every day!

She also enjoys giving back to her community through the volunteer work she does with a variety of organizations.  She has been involved with the Sudbury Theater Center, the Greek community, her church choir, and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF).

Toula, like many women in our community give of themselves selflessly for worthy causes.  As Helen Keller once said: “Many people  have the wrong idea of what constitutes happiness.  It is not attained through self-gratification  but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”