I. Pano Karatassos ’60 is the hospitality pioneer widely credited with putting Atlanta on the national culinary map. His philosophy is simultaneously simple and profound. “Running a restaurant is not a big thing; it’s just a thousand little things.”
Originally from Savannah, GA, where his father ran a restaurant and import food business, Karatassos was destined to be in the restaurant industry. As a child, he helped out at his father’s store and restaurant. Later, he worked in the food department while serving in the U.S. Navy. After graduating from CIA in 1960, he held numerous culinary positions including being the youngest chef in Georgia during his time at the DeSoto Hotel in Savannah and being named the valedictorian of the Greenbrier Apprenticeship Program.
Eventually, he joined forces with Paul Albrecht to open Pano’s & Paul’s restaurant. From his first restaurant in 1979, through the opening of 19 total restaurants, he became one of the premier restaurateurs in the U.S. He has received numerous industry awards and honors, including being awarded the National Restaurant Association’s 2008 Legend Fine Dining Award and being named a member of the Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame. In 2025, he was honored with a “Tastemakers: Catalysts for Change,” CIA Leadership Award.
Chef I. Pano Karatassos majored in Culinary Arts at CIA in New Haven, CT. He is a member of the inaugural class of CIA’s Alumni Hall of Fame.