It’s all Greek to us in the pop-up shop
Oikogeneia, the Greek word for family, is especially important to our newest pop-up shop resident, Fay Deligiannis-Worstell. The proprietor of one of Lincoln’s newest homemade sweets enterprises, Fay casts a wide net of friendship and family and is bringing her bubbly personality and mouthwatering Mediterranean treats downtown to our pop-up shop.
And her family is beside her every step of the way.
Posting to her Facebook page in October that she was opening My Big Fat Greek Bakery, a friend who works at UBT reached out to her about the Small Business Pop-up Shop and immediately put her in touch with the Small Business department. A whirlwind month or so later, Fay was officially selected as the next pop-up shop resident at Union Bank Place. She’ll be selling her coveted confections in the shop from January through April 2025.
The Union Bank Place building is quite familiar to Fay and her family. Her father, 91-year-old Demetrios, has worked on the building’s seventh floor as a tailor for several decades (and yes, he’s still reporting to work every day). Coming to America from Greece in 1969, Demetrios originally visited Nebraska to help his sister and her kids and planned to return to the homeland after a year. Little did he know he’d meet his future wife, Stami, while here. Hailing from a different region in Greece, the two met at church in Omaha and were married two months later.
In the early days of their marriage, a renowned local tailor offered to sell his business to Demetrios, but he didn’t have the funding to buy the business outright. Even with an offer to allow him to pay the tailor back slowly, he wasn’t sure he’d have enough money to stay in America. Lo and behold, along came another well-known local businessman, James Stewart, who purchased 40 suits and 40 cashmere coats. With the money from that sale, the newly wedded Deligiannis couple were able to stay in Lincoln to begin building their own business and start a family.
Fay was born and raised in Lincoln with her sister Des, graduating from Southeast High School. Most recently, she worked as a marketing director for a home health company, commuting to Omaha for work. She decided to take a leap of faith in October and start her bakery — a venture Stami had been trying convince her to start for years. The local baking legend joins Fay in the kitchen almost every day.
“Mom is an amazing baker and cook,” Fay said fondly of Stami. “I get to learn from and work with her every day. She has a very Greek way of baking and a unique method of measuring.” Fay has chaired the Greek Orthodox Church’s Greek Festival for 20 years. Her mother oversees baking the desserts, which draws large crowds to the event to purchase her baked goods and enjoy the festivities.
Fay took part in UBT’s Makers Markets in both November and December, wowing attendees with her rich and decadent desserts. Des also took part in December’s event in a booth right next to Fay’s with her clothing heat press business.
For her four-month stint in the pop-up, Fay plans to have a mix of fresh-baked items, refrigerated treats, and some hot and fresh items made to order. She intends to be all set up and ready to go by Wednesday, January 8, and open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..
Taking special orders and catering events, her baked confections menu currently consists of baklava, yiaourtopita, karidopita, koulourakia, galaktoboureko, kourambiedes, melomakarona, spanakopita, tiropita, amygdalota, and tsoureki. She can also wow crowds with authentic Greek cuisine for catering gigs, so stop by and chat with her about your upcoming event.
Check out My Big Fat Greek Bakery’s website or visit her on Facebook, and take a momentary break from your New Year’s resolutions to stop by the pop-up shop and wow your tastebuds with Fay’s delicious authentic Greek pastries.
My Big Fat Greek Bakery
Owner: Fay Deligiannis-Worstell
January-April 2025
Union Bank Place Pop-Up Shop | 1248 O Street
Monday through Friday — 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
