Bill and Amalia Rizos opened their cafe in 1977, sold it in 1991 and regained ownership in 1993 when the new owners defaulted on their payments. In 28 years of running the restaurant, the Rizoses developed a loyal customer base, which came for the atmosphere as well as the menu. Bill Rizos says more than 80 percent of the café's customers are regulars.

"It's the kind of restaurant I like," says longtime customer Keith De Filipis. "You can sass the waitresses, and they'll sass you back. It's a fun kind of place that puts out really good food."

Rizos says the cafe's family-friendly atmosphere will continue under the new owners, brothers Demetri and Jimmy Zafiris.

"They're a good family," Rizos says. "They're good people. They're Greek, so they're from the same culture."

"Our families have known each other for years," says Demetri Zafiris. "We traveled to Greece together. It's a small cultural niche here."

The Zafiris brothers grew up in the restaurant business; their parents opened their first restaurant in Canada in the 1970s after emigrating from Greece.

"We grew up working as busboys, dishwashers, servers," says Zafiris, who lives in Willow Glen with his wife, Penny, and their young daughter. "We worked our way up, and it embedded entrepreneurship in us."

The brothers took ownership of the cafe on Jan. 1. Zafiris says they originally came into the place to buy a meal, not the business.

"Bill was telling me he was tired and needed to move on. I asked him if he was selling, and he said 'yeah.' I didn't think it was for sale. I thought his daughter would take over the business. Dina was always here running the show on weekends."

Rizos' daughter, Dina Mollo, opted instead to spend time with her infant son Will, as did her grandparents.

"We are now spending all of our free time babysitting, and we love it," Rizos says. "My wife and I would like to spend more time in our native country of Greece. We have built a lovely retirement home south of Athens."

For now, though, Rizos is still keeping tabs on the business he started in 1977.

"He's not going to retire," Zafiris says. "He still comes in every day."

"He keeps up on everything," Jimmy Zafiris agrees.

The new owners plan to keep the cafe's menu intact and are adding special Greek plates. They also plan to keep the name.

"Bill's worked for 28 years building the business, so the name is staying," Jimmy Zafiris says. "He earned it."

He worked at Bill's for about six weeks before he and his brother took over.

"Bill was introducing me to the regular customers," he says. "The fact that our families are tied together makes it easier for customers to accept us the way they accepted him. Everyone's pretty nice to me; they call me Bill-Jim now."

Customers are also friendly with each other, Demetri Zafiris says.

"People greet each other when they come in here," he adds. "They say hello 10 times before they sit down to eat. Go to other restaurants, and everyone's a stranger."

The brothers are not only learning about their customers but about the business end of the café.

"We'll cook, handle the books, wait tables--whatever it takes to keep the business running for another 30 years and keep a Willow Glen tradition going," Demetri Zafiris says.

Bill's Cafe is located at 1115 Willow St., San Jose. For more information, call 408.294.1125 or visit billscafe@sbcglobal.