Relative to everything he is going through now, Guy Peretz maintains a regular pulse, a moderate rate of speech and an almost illogical calm. And I write this because from the other side of the conversation, just from hearing about everything that is happening now, and everything that is expected to happen very soon, not to mention everything that is planned to happen a little later, I myself - without any grip on his business and without actually touching the matter - have to a glass of water Or Ouzo. preferable.
"It's a blessed and good madness," he puts it after he spreads all the cards on the table (and probably keeps a few more up his sleeve, naturally) in a fan that leaves hardly, well, an exposed inch of the table. From his mouth, it still means and teaches something.
He describes a "major economic crisis" that led him years ago to travel and work in Greece. There the pendulum also began to move in his direction, not before he himself finally connected with its swings, and the simple things of life.
"It started as a concept restaurant that emphasized events," he repeated, "During the corona virus I was on the verge of despair, but then I really decided not to let go. I saw how the people go out and what they are looking for. A person no longer just wants to eat. Food alone is not enough. We need Something else, and this something is an experience with added value."
And so, a local empire was born. There were downfalls, but they even contributed to its eventual stability, and its expansion now. Mykonos Terrace, which opened last year in Herzliya, now has a more southern sister, on the shores of Rishon Lezion's lake, and a more eastern sister, much more, which already has its feet in the sand and water of Dubai.
"After so many years of working in Greece, I realized that we treat this country in a completely wrong way," he explained, "there, every island has a story and an identity. Crete can go in a gypsy direction. Lesvos tends to be folk. Mykonos is of course parties and so on. Everyone Greece of course, but in the end each of them represents something else. I simply collected the best experiences, the best moments, of each of the islands, and I created a great Greek experience in one place. There is authenticity and classicism, And here, the Greek ambassador himself told me that he wished they had one."
Peretz does not stop. He talks about Rishon Lezion with the excitement of someone who has never opened anything else in his life ("Everyone likes to shell out, but there was none here. Dubai and Miami standards in terms of the size and intensity"), to which he adds a new delicatessen in the form of Deli Greek which will offer Mazats and delicacies, Hospitality towels and trays, Taverna Express which is a fast food branch with a Greek bakery and Borik and Spanakopita and Kolori of course, a new online site and of course the continuation of YYY's roots, the Moroccan eatery that made his childhood dream come true.
These are neither sufficient nor satisfactory. "A Greek salon is breaking boundaries abroad, and in Dubai we are supposed to open soon," he added, "this is the first stop, which will combine the entire salon with the terrace and the bucket and the tavern inside a beach club, a private beach with sunbeds, a bar and a DJ."
From there, he aims for Athens in her own right, and when I raise a sharp eyebrow, he's happy to provide explanations for that as well. "Sometimes the Greek himself, who comes from Crete, is the only thing he knows. I come as an Israeli, watching from the sidelines, but someone who has lived there for years, and each time is in a different place in the country, and can relate everything to him. You too, if you come and want an Israeli experience, you will get something a certain one in Tel Aviv and something else in Machane Yehuda. So think that you have a place that connects everyone. Someone from the side, with a slightly more diverse view, can pick up something like that."
Until then, he won, as defined. "I see a blessing in the ability to make people happy," he described, "we live from crisis to crisis, and in the war we were all shocked and we were all hurt. When we opened for the first time, I received angry messages saying how dare we. It's hard and painful, but you can't stop everything and in the end people came And they thanked us for making them forget."
For him, "It's not just a job. It's a right, a mitzvah. At the height of the evening, when we hold the 'Am Yisrael Hai' ceremony, the whole audience is on their feet, and for me that's Israeliness at its best. We'll also arrive in Dubai with Israeli flags. We won't give up."