A NEW Greek restaurant opened in Basingstoke yesterday, welcoming around 200 people throughout the day.

A queue formed outside Greek Street, in Chineham Shopping Centre, before the new restaurant had even opened its doors.

And a steady flow of customers came throughout the day to sample authentic Greek cuisine, including souvlaki, mixed grill, falafels, and a selection of homemade cakes.

The new family-run restaurant was launched by mother-of-three Suzanna Collings, who has been running a Greek catering business for the last five years after being made redundant by Tesco.

The 45-year-old, who is half Greek, described the opening day as “amazing” adding: “We had people waiting outside before we had opened and for the first two hours, we had so many people. We had a queue for two hours outside and after that the whole day was busy.”

Suzanna, from Winklebury, has been running a Greek catering business at festivals, and has had a takeaway trailer at Chineham Shopping Centre for the last few months.

She decided to expand by opening the restaurant after a unit previously occupied by Trawlerman fish and chip shop became available and turned her dream to reality within three weeks of signing the lease.

“I always wanted a café, it’s been one of my dreams but it’s never the right time,” explained Suzanna, who was born in Serbia, adding: “I signed the lease on August 15 and we opened yesterday.”

The restaurant has inside seating for 28 people and four tables outside.

The family suffered a set-back earlier in the week after the restaurant was broken into, with tools stolen and a door damaged.

But Suzanna said the family worked extra hard to ensure the restaurant would still open on Saturday, adding: “We lost a day, but it does make you feel worried.”

Greek Street will open Monday to Saturday 9am to 10pm.