The Neptune Bar and Grille on the corner of Beach and Shore Boulevard opened its doors on January 11.

The Neptune serves greek and seafood and hopes to be the restaurant of choice for families in Gulfport, said Kostandinos Vartsakis, owner of the Neptune.

“I want to make this place to be one of best places to meet for lunch and dinner,” Vartsakis said.

Vartsakis, who asks customers and friends to call him Gus, has been working for more than three months getting everything prepared for opening up in Gulfport.

“I've been looking for a location in Gulfport for a long time,” Vartsakis said.

From the small restaraunts to the interesting shops, Vartsakis loves Gulfport and considers it his getaway from living in St. Pete Beach.

“I think Gulfport is a very unique place with different people,” Vartsakis said.

Although it's his first restaurant in Gulfport, Vartsakis isn't new to the food business. He owned a diner in Manhattan in the 80's and recently was the general manager of Sea Critters Cafe in Pass-A-Grille.

One of Vartsakis' goals with the Neptune was to make a family oriented restaurant that was family owned and operated.

Vartsakis has created the menu of seafood and greek food favorites for the Neptune with his chef, who has over 40 years experience cooking professionally.

“Anything you see on the menu, it's coming in daily and it's fresh,” Vartsakis said.

The Neptune has yet to schedule their grand opening because Vartsakis wants the restaurant to be 100 percent ready for anything.

“When you open a place and you want it to be successful, it's a lot of preparation,” Vartsakis said.

The things that need to be done are extra decorations and enhancements to the kitchen that make it easier for the cooks and servers to work, Vartsakis said.

Vartsakis has taken a lot of the preparation of opening the Neptune upon himself. From decorating to fixing the plumbing and painting, Vartsakis has been doing it mostly by himself with the help of his friends.

The Neptune is open to suggestions on how it can be a better restaurant too.

“People who come here and tell me that there is too much blue, I'll say that their change might be a good idea,” Vartsakis said.

Vartsakis wants everybody who comes into Neptune to feel relaxed and feel comfortable. With Neptune, he wants to create a family restaurant that feels like home to people coming in.

“I'm trying to give the best food and excellent service and its only going to get better,” Vartsakis said.