A Fayetteville mainstay for more than three decades has closed its doors for good.
Country Fish Fry, at 3307 Fort Bragg Road, made the announcement April 23 on its Facebook page.
“After 35 years of serving the community, Country Fish Fry has made the decision to close our doors permanently,” the announcement reads. “This is not a decision we ever imagined having to make, but it is time. Our focus needs to be on family.”
Family business
The restaurant was founded by Tasos Hasapis in 1991 at a site on Bragg Boulevard that is now a CVS. It relocated across the street on New Year’s Day 2000, where it remained until its late-April closure.
Hasapis, an engineer by trade, served in the Air Force and later built ferries in the Piraeus Harbour in Athens, Greece, before moving to Fayetteville in 1967. By the time Country Fish Fry opened, he’d already established himself in the local restaurant scene, opening an Italian restaurant in Spring Lake with his brother, James, and operating several others in the area.
“Our family loves Fayetteville, is proud to support small businesses and deeply values the customers who have supported us over the years.”
In the 1980s, he opened his first Fish Fry in Lillington, followed by a second location in Spring Lake and, nearly a decade later, the Fayetteville Country Fish Fry.
In total, Hasapis operated at least seven Country Fish Fry locations, including restaurants in Sanford, Pittsboro, Siler City, Spring Lake and on Reilly Road in Fayetteville.
Over time, he sold the other locations, and the Fayetteville restaurant became a family-run business. His children, Dino and Alexi, helped out before pursuing other careers. For the past 15 years — including through the COVID-19 pandemic — his daughter, Yiotta Hasty, has overseen day-to-day operations.
In a 2021 interview with The Fayetteville Observer, Hasty acknowledged rising food costs but said the restaurant’s focus remained on its customers and the quality of its food.
“As long as people support us, we’re doing OK,” she said. “We make it work the best we can.”
In a May 4 statement to the Observer, Hasty said a family medical emergency prompted the decision to close and was “not made lightly.”
“Our family loves Fayetteville, is proud to support small businesses and deeply values the customers who have supported us over the years,” she said.
The Facebook announcement said that Country Fish Fry was built on “hard work, tradition, and love” started by Hasapis and carried on by Hasty.
“She has dedicated her life to continuing his legacy and making this restaurant what it is,” the post said of Hasty. “We are beyond grateful for everything she has poured into this business and into this community.”
Message to employees, customers and community
The post addresses the restaurant’s employees “past and present” noting the “long hours and heart” it takes for a business to operate.
“Your care is what made this place feel like home to so many, and we could not have done it without you,” the post reads.
To their customers, they expressed gratitude.
“From our hushpuppies, to the conversations across the counter, this place became what it was because of you,” the post states. “We are so grateful for every visit, every meal shared, and every memory made. Thank you.”
And, despite an ending to their own story, Country Fish Fry encouraged its followers to support small businesses.
“That support matters now more than ever—please continue to show up for the small businesses that make our community special,” the post said. “While this chapter is coming to a close, the memories, friendships, and sense of community built here will stay with us forever,” the statement concludes. “With love and hushpuppies, The Hasapis- Hasty Family.”
Reporting by Rachael Riley, Fayetteville Observer / The Fayetteville Observer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
