Serving Great-Tasting Greek Specialties Since 1968

Pastry shops abound in the Greek community of Astoria. The most Old World of all is VICTORY SWEET SHOP. Somewhat resembling a small-town luncheonette, it has a single counter with five stools and a selection of bubble gum, Hershey bars, M & M's and Milky Ways. However, its fascination lies in the row of glass-lidded bins of homemade pastries. The cookies called amigdalota, which look mundane, are delicious, with a crunchy crust with slivered almonds and a chewy, moist interior. The diamond-shaped cookies called kourambiedes are buried in a snowbank of powdered sugar; don't exhale when you bite in. Baklava comes in appealing miniature versions.

BAKERY VICTORY SWEET SHOP

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-ruhling/astoria-characters-the-co_b_9346944.html

Fourteen. That’s how many days they knew each other before they became man and wife.”…. They make their success sound as straightforward as mixing flour, sugar and eggs, but it was — and still is — a tremendous amount of work, even though their daughter, Anna, has joined the team……/George and Antigoni were born in the Greek Dodecanese, the dozen-island chain in the Aegean Sea. George grew up in Nisyros; Antigoni is from Rhodes.

In 1968, he bought the Victory, which was a small luncheonette on 23rd Avenue at 28th Street. George, does most of the baking; Antigoni makes the mini and rolled pastries. She starts later because she’s the chef for the café, which features a Mediterranean menu. Things went so well that in 1986, they expanded Victory and moved it to Steinway Street……/their two children helped out, and in 2008, Anna gave up her career as a hedge-fund analyst to join them full time.

In 2012, they enlarged the business again, adding the Victory Garden Café……/we’re used to the work, and we like it,” George says. Antigoni adds, “We have a good relationship with our customers. They are like family.”……./Speaking of family, if George and Antigoni ever do retire — he’s 67, she’s 64 — it will still be a victory for Victory because Anna will take it over.

In her hands, they figure that Victory will hit the century mark.

Read more: Queens Ledger - Greek bakery serves Astoria for nearly five decades 

BAKERY VICTORY SWEET SHOP http://www.queensledger.com/view/full_story/27050299/article-Greek-bakery-serves-Astoria-for-nearly-five-decades

In a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, one Astoria bakery has remained a community staple.

Victory Sweet Shop at 21-69 Steinway Street has been around for 48 years, run by the Sakalis family, who has roots in Rhodes and Nisyros, two islands in Greece.
The bakery opened in 1968, serving tsoureki, or Greek sweet bread, along with popular sweets like baklava, kataifi and galaktobouriko, a creamy custard that is their biggest seller. The store also features a Greek spinach pie and cheese pie, among other desserts. In 1986, the Sakalis family moved the bakery to Steinway Street. Since then, they’ve established a relationship with the community, especially loyal customers who keep coming back.

Read more: Queens Ledger - Greek bakery serves Astoria for nearly five decades 

Almost four years ago, the family bought the adjacent building and converted it into their own café. The Victory Garden Café features an assortment of Mediterranean foods and drinks. Anna said the relationships they make are key to staying in the community. She said that when she walks down the street, she sees many of her customers.
“I see all these people that we know,” she said. “After so many years, it’s so nice to see familiar faces. I like the fact that we’re the oldest Greek bakery around. I can’t ever picture us moving away from this area.”Anna said despite the changes in the community, she likes Astoria because its core values have stayed the same.
“At least the main idea of Astoria has remained the same, more of a family-oriented, cultural neighborhood,” she said.

Read more: Queens Ledger - Greek bakery serves Astoria for nearly five decades 

Read more: Queens Ledger - Greek bakery serves Astoria for nearly five decades

BAKERY VICTORY SWEET SHOP https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/queens/2018/a-sweet-legacy/

Giorgos Sakalis doesn’t use a ruler to make the precise cuts that lead to his geometrically divine and delicious baklava. He measures with his hands, and then, with his chef’s knife, slices clean, even pieces……/Sakalis, an immigrant from the island of Nysiros, Greece, and his wife, Antigoni, who is originally from Rhodes, have been running Victory since 1968, when they bought it out from a war veteran. In 2012, they expanded their operation to include a full-service café and restaurant, run by their daughter Anna, but it’s the perfectly crisp baklava with the right amount of premium smoked almonds – with the skin still on, which Sakalis says makes all the difference — that we’ve come back here for. The recipes for all of Victory’s pastries hail from Nysiros, and the shop is a well-known supplier of tsoureki, a sweet bread, to countless Greek festivals, restaurants, and shops, in addition to its baklava.

BAKERY VICTORY SWEET SHOP http://www.qgazette.com/news/2016-04-13/Features/Victory_Sweet_Shop_Offers_Greek_Delicacies.html

Victory Sweet Shop was established in 1968 by the Sakalis family, which offered The Greek community a taste of Greece by offering authentic Greek pastries representing various parts of Greece.George Sakalis, Victory’s Head Baker, comes from a family of bakers. Antigoni Sakalis is Victory’s Executive Chef/Baker. Antigoni’s father was Head Chef at many of the top and most elegant hotels in the island of Rhodes, Greece. Their daughter, Anna Sakalis, with degrees in Economics / Finance and Computer Science, has joined the family business as Chief of Sales & Marketing / Event Planner. It’s no wonder, that their talents combined, created one of the most successful Greek bakeries throughout the U.S. Now with an expansion of the business, the Sakalis family offers an even larger selection of Greek specialties. The Café-Restaurant includes unique Greek appetizers and delicacies. The newly renovated space provides an ambiance that will leave you breathless. Victory’s Garden features elegant outdoor furniture, appropriate for day gatherings or warm lighting for late night affairs that quickly transport you to the comforts and beauty of Greece……./ With its stone walls inspired by the Greek Islands, and Mediterranean cuisine/ desserts, the Victory Garden Cafe creates memories that last forever.