Our Story

The beginning

THE AMERICAN DREAM

Grill Advantage was born from the vision of Triandafilos Hatjopoulos, a Greek immigrant with big dreams. In the late 1960s, he and his wife Susan arrived in the U.S. from Greece with just a few hundred dollars borrowed from Susan’s father and the hope of building a better life.

They started out working in warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Susan, a gifted seamstress, earned a high-paying job sewing astronaut suits for NASA. But when she learned Triandafilos was struggling with language barriers, she left the job to support him—they were a team, willing to sacrifice everything to succeed together.

Eventually, their passion for food led them to open their first pizza shop in Barre, MA, in the early 1970s. There, they learned the language, sharpened their business skills, and built a strong reputation in the community. In 1985, they brought that experience and vision to Bellingham, where they opened Bellingham Palace Pizza—a neighborhood staple that continues to serve with pride and tradition.

Now, over 40 years later, that legacy continues into the third generation—run by their sons George and John, and now George’s sons, Lukas, phillip and Stefanos.

the prototype

CHALLENGES INSPIRE INNOVATION

Being in the restaurant indusry for over three decades, Triandafilos noticed that a low factory backsplash led to grease splatter, flue fires, and food falling behind the grill. Determined to address these issues, he crafted a piece of stainless steel with welded clips. During a busy breakfast rush, he installed what would later be known as the “Backsplash Extender,” revolutionizing kitchen efficiency and laying the foundation for something much bigger.

always improving

INDUSTRY SOLUTION

After the success of the Backsplash Extender in their kitchen, Triandafilos’s sons, George and John Hatjopoulos, knew the job wasn’t finished. Working long hours in their own kitchen, they still faced a constant challenge—clutter on the flat top grill. During peak hours, pans, ingredients, and tools were scattered across the line, creating a mess, risking cross-contamination, and slowing everything down.

They weren’t satisfied. So they got to work on a solution.

That led to the creation of the Staging Area — that held accessories, pans and tools safely above the grill, freeing up workspace, improving organization, and keeping the station locked in during the rush. It was another simple innovation born from real kitchen pain, and it worked.

taking our product to market

THE BUILDING PROCESS

With the initial success of their early solutions, George and John knew they had something special—but turning it into a true product was a whole different challenge. While still juggling the demands of the family restaurant, they began the patent process—filing paperwork, protecting designs, and laying the legal foundation to build a real business.

But one obstacle kept coming up: no two grills were the same.

Grills came in different shapes, sizes, brands, angles, and backsplash variations. What worked in one kitchen didn’t always work in another. So, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work—prototyping, testing, and refining every detail. They experimented with materials, engineered custom clip systems, and stress-tested each design to stand up to the heat, grease, and chaos of a real kitchen environment.

It wasn’t just about making a great product—it was about making it universal. Something any operator could install. Something that worked out of the box. Through relentless development, hands-on trials, and countless late nights, they transformed Grill Advantage from a back-of-house idea into a patented, industry-ready solution—built to scale, built to last, and built for every grill.

where we are today

OUR MISSION

What started as a single solution in a small family restaurant has grown into a trusted brand for chefs and kitchens worldwide. Today, Grill Advantage is proudly made in the USA and run by five members of the Hatjopoulos family, with a shared mission: to bring safety, efficiency, and organization to every kitchen, one grill at a time.

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