The Cupertino Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the project in their July 28 meeting. Chairwoman Angela Chen was absent.

"This will be a great addition to Cupertino," said Planning Commissioner Gilbert Wong. "It is an excellent place for friends and families to meet."

Flames owners Pete, Louie and Gus Tsigaris are excited about coming to Cupertino. The three brothers from Kyparissia, Greece came to the United States in the early 1970s. They opened their first restaurant in San Jose in 1975. Now they own four restaurants in the Bay Area—three in San Jose and one in Milpitas. Each restaurant serves about 800 customers every day.

"We are a family restaurant and have a big selection of items for people to choose from," said Gus Tsigaris. "We want to attract customers from 1 year old to 100 years old."

Like the Flames in San Jose and Milpitas, the Cupertino restaurant will feature a tropical decor, homemade cakes and friendly waitresses. It will also serve lunch and dinner. Hours will be 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Residents near the proposed site welcome the plan but are concerned about the possible noise and odor that the restaurant might generate.

"We have lived in the neighborhood for 40 years," said Nina McFalliard, who lives directly behind the site. "Every time a restaurant comes in, we ask them to be considerate of the neighbors. I hope the restaurant can keep the units clean and won't start deliveries too early in the morning."

Louie Tsigaris promised he would be sensitive to the neighbors' needs.

"We will not have deliveries until 8 o'clock in the morning," he said. "We want to be good neighbors."

Actually, Flames has been very community friendly. During the Santana Row fire in the summer of 2002, the Flames restaurant in the Winchester area gave out free coffee to fire and police crews, according to Wong.