New London — He really doesn't want to do it, but Mathew Greene can't help but to make the analogy.

"It's a great place, you go in there, and I hate to say it's like 'Cheers,' but it's like 'Cheers,'" said the probate judge, high school basketball referee and 1977 New London High School graduate about Mr. G's, the Hodges Square restaurant that turns 50 this month.

Greene has been patronizing the eatery since he was a kid.

The place is very much like the legendary neighborhood bar in "Cheers," where locals went to unwind and socialize in the sitcom that ran from 1982 to 1993, Greene said.

"Every time you go there, you're going to know somebody, and they're going to be from all walks of life," he said. "And there's the camaraderie, the atmosphere and the food, and on top of all that, we put up with Peter and George."

That's Peter and George Gianakos, the brothers who for the past 35 years have operated the restaurant their parents opened 50 years ago this month at 452 Williams St.

Louis and Chrysula Giannakakos — the sons and some of their siblings legally shortened their surname years ago — are deceased now, but the sons say their parents would be proud to see the restaurant flourishing and the second and third generation of many of their old customers' families still patronizing the establishment.

It was Louis Giannakakos who decided on the name Mr. G's when he closed his New Willow Restaurant at 24 Bank St. and reopened in a remodeled fruit and produce market in Hodges Square in 1966.

Back then, Connecticut College was an all-girls' institution, and some of the students, who were regulars at the New Willow, couldn't pronounce Giannakakos and instead called the proprietor Mr. G.

Even now, occasionally those long-ago students will visit the restaurant on trips to southeastern Connecticut. Decades ago, the family would include them for Greek Easter and other holidays at the Giannakakos' home on Montauk Avenue.

"We still have some of those Conn College and Coast Guard Academy students stop by and tell us they're glad we're still here," George Gianakos said.

What's kept the place in business all these years?

"We've adapted with the times and the economy; perseverance," George Gianakos said. "We didn't do anything different but offer a quality meal at a quality price, and that perpetuates. That's the main thing. That's why we are still here, because you can get a good meal for your dollar."

That, said Peter Gianakos, and the fact that the brothers know almost all of their customers by name.

"We are on a first-name basis with most people who come in; there are a lot of regulars, and we take the time to ask them, 'How are you doing today?'" he said.  

"There are no airs here, there is no class situation," George Gianakos added. "Everyone gets treated the same, whether you are an admiral at the Coast Guard or a shipbuilder down at Thames Shipyard. Everybody is the same. You leave your class at the door. It's just a comfortable place in a comfortable family setting."

The restaurant seats 85 and the barroom 40, and the most popular items on the menu are salads, followed by pizza.

"People don't come here to have dinner, they come here to eat. And socialize," said George Gianakos, who explained that Mr. G's is not a traditional sports bar where people come to watch sports, but rather it is a place where locals oftentimes meet to talk sports.

"When there is a Little League game, you will get the Little League team down here afterwards, and the parents and the coaches," he said. "And it's the same with high school Friday night basketball or football. We get the coaches and the refs and the kids after the game. And they come from New London, Waterford, Montville, Groton, East Lyme and Norwich."

Dave Cornish is the head boys' basketball coach at Ledyard High School and a 1988 graduate of New London High who has been a regular at Mr. G's for about 15 years. In addition to stopping in on Wednesday nights, he also meets a friend there for breakfast on Sunday mornings.

"The atmosphere is great. The food is great. And when I go in on Wednesday nights, I can have pizza and chit-chat about anything and everything," he said. "There's a lot of sports talk. But really, we talk about everything. And while your food is being prepared, the owners come out and greet you and make you feel like you're at home."

Both Peter, 68, and George, 58, have worked at the family businesses since they were about 10 years old.

Peter Gianakos remembers walking to the restaurant after sports practices at New London High School and helping out with the dinner rush and then hitchhiking home.

They are two of six children and said their parents, especially their father, a Greek immigrant who ended up in the U.S. after his merchant marine ship was torpedoed off Bermuda during World War II, were proud that all their kids obtained college degrees.

"They worked hard," said Peter Gianakos, who explained that in the late '70s, when his folks wanted to retire, they agreed to hold out until George graduated from college in 1981 before turning the business over to the brothers.

Their mother was born in New London — her maiden name was Verenes — and her family ran the old New London Banana Co.

Today, Peter Farnan, son of their older sister Barbara, is catering coordinator at Mr. G's and may be one of the family members who takes over when Peter and George retire.

For now, the two are focusing on delivering quality food and service to their customers, and taking care of their employees.

A number of workers have been there 10 or more years, and one — Mark Asman, a dishwasher who started as part of a state employment and training program — has been at Mr. G's for 37 years.

"We have customers who first came in here with their parents as babies, and the next thing you know, they were in the bar and then their kids were coming in, and the next thing you know, their grandkids are coming in," Peter Gianakos said.

Greene, the probate judge, said he and his wife used to bring in their children, and now the kids are grown and go to Mr. G's on their own.

"My kids like it for the same reasons that I do," Greene said. "Sure, you can go into a chain restaurant, but when you go into a place like Mr. G's, that's what community is all about. ... I can go in there literally any night and see people I know and run into someone I haven't seen in a while."

Local celebrities frequent the place, too, George Gianakos said, explaining that just recently an NBA referee, a former NFL coach and a former Secret Service agent were all in the restaurant at the same time.

"But really, we're just a local hangout where people come for lunch or after work. And it's a place where, if you are ever alone, you can come in and eat in a comfortable setting," he said.

The brothers try to make sure that one of them is always there for opening and closing — the business is open 11 a.m. to midnight daily — and for breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 8 a.m. 

Their core menu has never changed but, as Peter Gianakos explained, it has adapted to food tastes over the years.

"Thirty years ago, arugula wasn't even a name," he said.

"We really haven't changed that much, we are survivors," George Gianakos said.

"You think it is 50 years times 365 days," Peter Gianakos said. "But however many times I've walked through that door, it's the same experience every day."

a.baldelli@theday.com

If you go

What: Mr. G's

Where: 452 Williams St., New London

What: Family restaurant and bar serving salads, pizza, sandwiches, steaks, seafood and more

Phone: (860) 447-0400

Hours: Open daily 11 a.m. to midnight and Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. for breakfast

Owners: Brothers Peter and George Gianakos

Website: mrgsrestaurant.com