A humble and hard-working family is celebrating more than 30 years since it first opened its restaurant doors.
Family-run the Stage Door Steakhouse has been a firm fixture of Wimbledon Broadway for 32 years, serving up steaks and home-made Greek dishes since the 1980s.
Andreas Pilalin, now in his seventies, set up the restaurant with wife Helen, and still works there six days a week with dedicated family members including sons Soto and Zack pitching in.
Soto praised the continued efforts of his father, Andreas.
He said: "It’s quite sentimental, it’s my father’s way of life, and the restaurant is a 24/7 job."
From working in kitchens at the age of 15 years-old, Andreas strives to keep the quality of the food his number one priority.
“Sean Connery and Andre Agassi have eaten here and my father was completely oblivious,” said Soto.
From Billingsgate to Smithfield markets, the patriarch of the family still prefers to hand-pick his own stock and travels to the markets at 1am to select the best produce.
The restaurant on the Broadway has firm Greek Cypriot roots, from their steaks to their close-knit family circle.
Soto Pilalis, Andreas Pilalis, Helen Pilalis and Zack Pilalis in the early days.
Even on Christmas day, staff open the doors of both their kitchen and their home to the residents of Wimbledon.
Soto said: "We usually use the restaurant as a dining room.
"Sometimes if we have early customers we eat with them."
Living above the restaurant, the Pilalin family claims it is one of the oldest family businesses in Wimbledon.
With all the staff a member of the family, the Pilalins keep their secret to success close to home.
Unlike the commercial chains that frequent the high street in Wimbledon, Stage Door rarely changes its menu.
Soto said: "We don’t take too many risks.
"If we know something works, we stick to it. If you try and do too much, you lose quality."
Soto feels this is what sets them apart from other restaurants and have kept them so strong throughout the years.
Having previously run Las Vegas for 12 years in the site where Mae Ping Thai restaurant now resides, the Pilalin family have discovered the secret to longevity, unbeknown to some locals.
Soto said: "It’s funny, a lot of people who live in the area walk past and don’t realise we’ve been here for 30 years."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here