We’re dedicated. To you.

From our humble beginnings to domination in the global cuisine marketspace, we’ve focused on one thing: our customers’ needs. From helping the local restaurant with signage and support to sharing innovation opportunities with the largest chains, retailers and distributors, we help our customers thrive.

Fifty Years of Delicious Innovation

Grecian Delight’s journey began in 1974 with a Chicago entrepreneur Peter Parthenis. With a passion for food and innovation, his vision was to bring the gyro sandwich and other traditional Greek foods from the restaurants of Halsted Street in Chicago to consumers across the United States.

A year later, Chicago entrepreneur Chris Tomaras, rolled up his sleeves to make gyros and other Greek foods for Chicago area restaurants. It was with his success and hard work that Kronos was born.

It was at the hand of a new generational leader, Pete Parthenis Jr., that Grecian Delight would continue to grow through innovation, expanding its portfolio to a broader Mediterranean cuisine and a continued focus on convenient products for restaurants that are the highest quality and most authentic – including ReadyCarved® – that make preparation a snap. That focus would lead to continued expansion from the corner gyro shops to regional and national chains and even retail with the Opaa! Brand.

When Grecian delight and Kronos merged in 2020, it was the vision of the Parthenis family and the investment partners, EP2, that brought these two companies together to create a powerhouse. Their vision for Grecian Delight | Kronos was to expand their leadership in Greek, Mediterranean, and inspired world cuisine, aiming to have their delicious flavors served at every table or listed on menus worldwide.

We're looking forward to our next 50 years. We know it will be authentic, innovative and delicious!

Our Evolution

1974-1975
Peter Parthenis, Sr., establishes Gyros, Inc., to produce gyro meat with a vision to bring Greek food to every table in America. In 1975, Chris Tomaras starts Kronos Food Corp. and a healthy rivalry is born.
1975-1981
Grecian Delight, expands into classic Greek offerings with tzatziki, pita bread, and specialty Greek desserts like baklava, moussaka and pistachio.
1995-1996
Grecian Delight begins producing falafel and hummus.
1999-2007
Pete Parthenis Jr. begins working at Grecian Delight helping to set the future vision for the company. As the new president and CEO, he broadens the portfolio in Mediterranean Foods and Channel expansion into National Chains and Retail.
2010-2016
Mediterranean cuisine expansion included specialty breads like naan and lavash, Handstacked proteins like Chicken shawarma and globally-inspired sauces like feisty feta and shkug.
2017-2018
Disruptive market innovation with “ReadyCarved®,” a technology for pre-slicing fully cooked authentic gyros off the cone for operators and retail consumers.
2020
The Parthenis Family Partners with investors E2P to merge Grecian Delight Inc. and Kronos Foods Corp., forming a new powerhouse in Mediterranean and Global Cuisines.
2021-2024
Grecian Delight | Kronos continues growth through innovation and disruption with the expansion of value-added flatbreads and plant-based proteins.
2024
Grecian Delight | Kronos celebrates 50 Years of being a global food manufacturer helping distributors, operators and retailers drive traffic with innovative products and satisfy guests’ increasing desire for global foods.

Today, GDK Foods has a global reach with customers:

In more than ten countries

Across 400 foodservice distributors

In more than 30,000 independent and national chains

In the top 40 retailers in the United States

So we only have one question: What can we do for YOU today?

Innovation: the heart of our products

As a global cuisine leader, we are constantly in the kitchen sampling, testing, trying and devising new recipes and new products to bring global flavors to consumers.

Three locations to build your business

We have three full-service manufacturing centers located in the heart of our country, offering a convenient distribution point to cover the entirety of our United States.

1201 Tonne Road
Elk Grove Village, IL

1301 Estes Ave
Elk Grove Village, IL

One Kronos Drive
Glendale Heights, IL

Quality. Guaranteed.

Our state-of-the-art facilities have consistently achieved SQF Level 3 Certificates for their comprehensive food safety and quality programs. Our customers—and yours—can always rely on the quality and safety of our entire products.

SQF Level 3 Certification

Recognized as a Standard Under the Global Food Safety Initiative

USDA

Meat products are Certified by USDA

FDA

Compliant Food Security Program
Achieves Highest Level of Consumer Safety

Halal

Beef & Poultry Gyros Produced According to Islamic Rites when Bearing Logo

Kosher

Bakery and Dairy Products are Certified Kosher and Pas Yisroel when Bearing Logo

Careers at GDK Foods

We’re constantly growing. That means we’re constantly looking for the best and brightest to help us achieve our goals—people who want a thriving career with a thriving company. We offer competitive wages, attractive benefits and a fun and friendly environment designed to help you reach ever higher while the company does the same.

Our channels

We bring global foods to a wide variety of away-from-home venues, like restaurants, retail foodservice, and non-commercial segments. We also provide products and solutions to the grocery channel for consumers to enjoy at home. No matter where we reach, the customer is at the heart of our business.

GDK Foods in the news

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