CIA Alumni Bio
Chef Nick Livanos ’83 oversees all restaurant finances and operations for the Livanos Restaurant Group and regularly meets with the chefs at each of the restaurants. The family has received critical acclaim for its six restaurants in the New York City metro area, including several three-star ratings from The New York Times and consistently high scores from the Zagat Survey.
The American Dream
Chef Livanos, along with his brother Bill and sister Corina, grew up working in the restaurants on weekends and school holidays. Their father, John Livanos, came to the United States from Greece in 1956 and started the family restaurant business when he bought a luncheonette in Astoria, NY in 1961.
Today, the Livanos family own and manage Oceana, Molyvos, Ousia, and Oceana Poke in New York City plus Moderne Barn in Armonk and City Limits in White Plains.
Keeping it in the Family
All the Livanos siblings remain involved in managing the family restaurant empire and they have welcomed the next generation. Nick’s eldest sons, Johnny and Enrico have joined the family business as managers at Ousia. Livanos restaurants employ a number of CIA graduates as chefs and managers, and Oceana and City Limits are CIA internship locations.
Chef Nick Livanos majored in culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He is the co-owner of the Livanos Restaurant Group based in New York City.