Bill & Effie Marvelis, Owners
Owners Bill and Effie Marvelis are a husband-wife team with over twenty-five years experience in all facets of the restaurant business. The Sunshine Grille is not their first venture, as Bill and Effie each owned their own restaurants when they first met over fifteen years ago.
Effie was part-owner of Sandwich King, a beer and breakfast joint in the Lexington Market. The menu appealed to those working the graveyard shift at the University of Maryland and other twenty-four hour facilities in Baltimore. Nearing six in the morning, lines would start to form with tired and hungry customers waiting to scarf down pancakes, waffles, eggs or breakfast sandwiches. All these breakfast items were washed down with a cold draught beer.
Bill was the owner of Andy’s, a veritable cheese steak factory also located in the Lexington Market. Two six-foot grills powered this amazing place: one for cooking and the other for serving. Huge mounds of tender, perfectly seasoned beef were stuffed into a sub rolls and dressed to the customers’ liking. At this time, Bill was also running Mount Olympus, a Greek and vegetarian stall located right next to Andy’s.
Sunshine Grille is the amalgamation of all three business into a Bistro-style restaurant. Wine and mustard colored walls combined with earth toned tiles create a casual yet elegant atmosphere at the Grille. The patio attracts early risers for breakfast and good friends for cocktails and appetizers in the evenings.
The Sunshine Grille Experience
People are just beside themselves as they read the menu and try to decide what to order. First, try to get past the monthly Specials Menu. There is a special for all hours of the day. Come in for breakfast and you will melt over our special pancakes. The soup and burger of the month are to die for. Then there are the appetizers and entree specials which you would only expect to find at a fine dining establishment.
Breakfast is served until 4pm everyday; begin flipping through the well put together full menu and you will find choices from almost every food category. The quick tour: grilled octopus, chef’s mezze board, fried green tomatoes, pulled pork eggrolls, French onion soup, Memphis Ribs, mango grilled tuna, shrimp salad, rockfish basket, seafood club, falafel pita, bison burgers, lamb burgers, and all kinds of paninis, wraps & hoagies. Many people ask what is the most popular item, or our best item. This is a reasonable question since most places are known for one or two things they do exceptionally well. We like to think that every item coming out of our kitchen is exceptional and noteworthy. We challenge you to prove us wrong!
What is good food without the proper beverage for pairing? A respectable craft beer and wine selection sit beside our hand selected spirits. The seasons change and our drink menu changes with them. Seasonal beers and cocktails are trendy and fun. After perusing the choices, even the connoisseurs will give us a thumbs up!
It’s not over yet; leave room for dessert. Our desserts are made in-house, and those that aren’t, we source from local bakers. Our bakery case is mesmerizing: cakes, more cakes, pies, house specialties, and seasonal goodies. Customers pay at the counter; this gives us a bit of face time with each and every guest. It just so happens that the bakery case is located next to the cash register. Our regulars often ask to take two desserts home, which they enjoy while watching TV. Sounds like a nice finish to a great meal, wouldn’t you say?
On The Horizon
We will continue to innovate; using fresh ingredients & ethnically inspired recipes to create food that is both healthy and fun to eat. Sunshine Grille Bistro is not a farm to table concept; however we do source our eggs, some produce and other items locally. We source “clean food” from our suppliers, serving beef and chicken that is free-range and hormone free. Our menu is inclusive; we have choices for vegans, vegetarians and guests with gluten intolerance.
We bring this same philosophy to our catering business where we take pride in our presentations and trendy menu ideas. You’ll find great prices here that you cannot beat anywhere else. Bill says, “I like to establish long term relationships with my customers; I’m not trying to empty their pocket, just keep my hand in it.”