Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple Chris Tambures, far right, who established Vasilio’s Family Restaurant in Cortland with his wife, Toula, 35 years ago, continues to run the establishment with the help of his sons, from left, George, 33, Kris, 31, and Paul, 29. The business had grown to employ nearly 30 people, added a banquet room and recently started selling jars of the restaurant’s mainstay sauce at area markets and grocery stores.

CORTLAND — Chris Tambures realized the value of consistency early in his career as a restaurateur.

The Warren man and his wife, Toula, both natives of Greece, established Vasilio’s Family Restaurant in Cortland 35 years ago.

“Taste, service, the whole package. If you’re consistent with people and give them a quality experience they can count on they’ll keep coming back,” Tambures said. “That’s good business, that’s the main ingredient to anything.”

And that, he noted, has been a contributing factor in the success and longevity of the restaurant that his sons, George, 33, Kris, 31, and Paul, 29, now help manage and soon will be taking over.

The Tambures’ worked seven days a week to build the business that has grown to some 30 employees and now has a banquet room adjacent to the Trumbull Avenue eatery.

Recently, Tambures started offering jars of the restaurant’s mainstay sauce at area markets and grocery stores.

His son, Paul, said the move was made at customers’ requests.

“It’s something people wanted, they asked for it and we took that step,” Paul Tambures said. “It’s definitely been a high point for us.”

Celebrating a milestone anniversary is another one.

“And we’ve passed a few, more than a few,” Tambures said.

Vasilio’s is among thousands of small businesses — defined as firms or companies with fewer than 500 employees — in the Mahoning Valley.

The Tambures’ knew the odds were against them when they made the decision to open the restaurant.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says between 75 and 80 percent of small businesses continue operating into the second year after being established. About half of all new establishments survive five years or more and one-third survive 10 years or more, with the rate of success dropping for many each consecutive year.

“We knew it was going to be a lot of work, and it was,” Tambures said. “We didn’t even make a profit for the first five or six years. People tell you when you start making a profit, well, that’s quite an accomplishment. But you work hard and you stick with it. I think 35 years says something. It says a lot.”

There are 28 million small businesses in the country and about one million in Ohio, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA says more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business and those firms create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

Locally, more than 95 percent of the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber’s nearly 2,700 members are small businesses with less than 30 employees, the organization reported.

“Small businesses in the Valley represent the heart of our economy,” said Rachel Flickinger, the chamber’s vice president of sales and services. “Small businesses employ many of our Valley residents and collectively stimulate the economy as a result. They make a huge impact and play a significant role ….”

Recognizing that impact, the U.S. government started observing National Small Business Week in 1963. The annual observance is typically held in May, but activities often extend beyond the week.

Tambures was 12 when he started working as a busboy at Sunrise Inn in Warren. He soon moved into the restaurant’s pizza shop and from there into the kitchen.

He said the restaurant business “must have always stuck with me” because years later, when the opportunity arose, he and Toula opened their own eatery.

“I was driving truck at the time, but I was home every night. We saw this place and decided to go for it,” he said.

In the early days, the restaurant was open seven days a week, but the family has since cut back, closing Sundays except for Mother’s Day.

The Tambures’ describe the menu as “All American” with Italian specialties and some Greek menus added to the mix. They make the sauce on site and oversee every step it takes from the restaurant to the grocery store and into customers’ hands, including packaging.

“It’s an old recipe I learned to make many years ago,” the family’s patriarch said. “People know exactly what they can expect each time they open a jar of it. Like I said, consistency. Customers count on that. What they tasted, what they liked the very first time they had it is what they want each and every time they open a new jar. They know they can count on us for that. That, I think, it what makes me most proud.”

vshank@tribtoday.com