Chances are, if you live in Pottsville, you have heard of the restaurant Wheel, located downtown. What you may not know is the owner, Mr. Savas Logothetides, is a 2002 PAHS graduate. He was also named the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce

When he graduated from high school, Mr. Logothetides was undecided as to what career he wanted to pursue.

“I had no idea, so I went to the University of Pittsburgh, and I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree with in political science under the anticipation that I wanted to be a lawyer,” he said.

However, when he was in college, Mr. Logothetides had jobs as a dishwasher, a waiter and a cook. This is where his desire to go into managing a restaurant stemmed from.

“Everything kind of grew from there,” Mr. Logothetides said. “I got into management, then I got into regional management, and then finally, you know, most people that work in the restaurant industry, their ultimate goal is to own their own restaurant or restaurants, and that’s where I ended up.”

Mr. Logothetides incorporated his past work experiences in the restaurant industry and management and opened Wheel, located on West Market Street in Pottsville. The building that Wheel is located in has been owned by Mr. Logothetides’s family for years. The restaurant serves a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, appetizers and desserts.

“This building has been in my family since 1968”, Mr. Logothetides said. “I’m a third- generation restaurant owner out of this building. My grandfather and my father both ran restaurants out of this space, so it was pretty easy to transition Wheel into this location in downtown Pottsville.”

Mr. Logothetides has also opened a second restaurant, The Crimson House, on North Centre Street in downtown Pottsville.

“It’s a tapas restaurant, or a small plate restaurant. More of an adult-oriented place,” he said.

When he went to school at PAHS, Mr. Logothetides was a member of the Spanish Club. He also earned nine varsity letters – four in wrestling, three in soccer, one in football and one in track. Mr. Logothetides also earned all county honors in soccer during his junior and senior years, and his senior year of football. He made many friends who eventually helped him in his career after high school and college.

“Pottsville was a great high school. I made a lot of friends who I still am friends with today, but I’ve also been able to make a lot of business connections from Pottsville Area High School within the community with other graduates,” Mr. Logothetides said. “Going to Pottsville was a great experience, and it was a lead into getting into the University of Pittsburgh, which is a great school. I got a great education there, and the backbone of that was getting my diploma from Pottsville Area.”

Mr. Logothetides has one piece of advice: Be bold when making decisions.

“There is always going to be a risk, and if there isn’t a risk, typically it’s not worth it, so the best advice is to have confidence, but make sure your confidence is backed by data and research, and again, be bold with your decision,” Mr. Logothetides said.