Team

There’s more to the life of longtime Daytona Beach area resident and restaurant owner Manny Manolas than meets the eye. His life’s resume, to date, is newsworthy, noteworthy, and intriguing, to say the least. And, there are more chapters of his resume and life that have yet to be written.

Manolas is the son of two Greek parents. He was born on the island of Rhodes in 1966. When he was seven years old, he and his parents (father George and mother Clary) moved from Greece to Tarpon Springs, Florida, which is perched along the Gulf of Mexico. They lived in Tarpon Springs long enough for brother Louie to be born. It wasn’t long before the family relocated to Daytona Beach to be closer to Greek relatives. At the time of his arrival in Florida, Manolas didn’t speak a word of English. It didn’t take long for him to become fluent in English. Because of his Greek upbringing, he was very adept at kicking a soccer ball. His childhood hero was the Brazilian soccer great Pele. He’s never lost his love for ‘football,’ as the rest of the world refers to the sport. Before arriving in the U.S., he decided that he should ‘adopt’ an NFL team as his favorite team, so he chose ‘America’s Team,’ aka the Dallas Cowboys. And, his favorite Cowboy was soccer-style placekicker Rafael Septien, which is understandable since Manolas was a soccer player.

Upon arrival in Daytona Beach, Manolas attended elementary school, middle school and high school. Initially, his parents were co-owners and operators of an Italian restaurant in Ormond Beach, known as Stavros. When Manolas wasn’t going to school or playing soccer, he and his brother Louie worked at Stavros. It didn’t take long for Manolas to become fluent in the restaurant business.

As Manolas matriculated in Daytona Beach, he quickly figured out how to successfully be an American football placekicker. During high school, he was the placekicker for the Seabreeze High School football team. He was so proficient at kicking a football through the uprights that then University of Florida head football coach Charley Pell offered him a scholarship. Manolas was excited about being a Gator, but two weeks before his departure for the Gator campus in Gainesville, he was notified that Pell’s scholarship offer was being rescinded because of some illegalities. That was a major disappointment for Manolas as he was looking forward to being a Florida Gator.

As fate would have it, Manolas had a contact within the football program at Bethune-Cookman College, the historically black college, which is located in Daytona Beach. The Wildcats needed a place-kicker so B-CC head football coach Larry Little offered Manolas a scholarship to fill that void on the Wildcats roster. He accepted Little’s offer. It was a ‘win-win’ for all concerned. In addition to staying home for college, it enabled Manolas to continue working in the restaurant business alongside his parents when he wasn’t enrolled in class or practicing and playing with the B-CC football team. It also allowed his parents to attend his home football games, which they did.

By the time Manolas graduated from B-CC in 1989 with a degree in accounting and hospitality management, he was ready to go full-time into the restaurant business alongside his parents, but he still had a football ‘itch’ to scratch.

His career as a collegiate placekicker was prolific, to say the least. During his four years, he had 102 point-after-touchdown kicks and 43 field goals, which still ranks as second on the B-CC career points list (231). In his freshman year, he was named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) all-conference team. In his sophomore year, he was named as the MVP of the annual Florida Classic game vs. Florida A&M University. In his senior year at B-CC, Manolas helped the Wildcats claim a share of the MEAC title. As an individual, Manolas was presented the Eddie Robinson Award, which is given to the top student-athlete in NCAA Division I-AA.

Manolas actually had NFL tryouts with the San Diego, now LA, Chargers and the Washington Redskins, now Commanders. Unfortunately, he was unable to unseat two established NFL placekickers, Rolf Benirschke with San Diego and Mark Moseley in Washington.

Manolas knew that his back-up plan and long-term career plan was in restaurant business, working alongside his parents. By this time, he had become fluent in how to own and operate an Italian restaurant.

While he was enrolled at B-CC, his parents opened up their own restaurant in nearby Port Orange. Since their oldest son’s long-term future was in the restaurant business, it was called Manny’s Pizza House. It remains Manny’s Pizza House to this day and it’s now located in Ormond Beach, located immediately north of Daytona Beach.

Since the late 1980s, Manolas has been officiating in the kitchen at Manny’s Pizza House where some of the finest Italian food – salads, soups, grinders, specialty pizza, strombolis, calzones, and specialty plates — in Florida is served. Manny’s Pizza House, which is open six days a week and closed on Tuesday, is a family business that uses family recipes.

“Our specialties are the lasagna, supreme pizza, the Greek salad, calzones, our soups, and our three desserts — tiramisu, toasted almond, and rice pudding,” said Manolas, now 59. “My mom is still involved in the restaurant and we use her recipes for the lasagna, some soups, and our rice pudding. My wife Mary makes desserts, our homemade cookies, and soups. As for our calzones, we call them ‘Italian egg rolls.’”

According to Manolas, the key to his restaurant’s success is strong and steady local support.

“Our regular guests range from blue-collar workers to white-collar professionals such as doctors, attorneys, teachers, dentists, and law enforcement professionals,” said Manolas.

When asked to rate the quality of his restaurant’s food with any restaurant in central Florida, he has a standard response.

“We do not say we’re the best, our customers do,” said Manolas.

Clearly, Manolas takes pride in being as successful and efficient in the restaurant business as he was on the football field. He’s already planning for the future as his sons Anthony and Felipe and daughter-in-law Sofia currently work in the restaurant. And, his two young granddaughters – Zen and Mariana — are now in training for working in the restaurant business.

For his proficiency in football as a collegiate place-kicker, Manolas was inducted into the Bethune-Cookman College Hall of Fame on September 19, 2025. That’s another newsworthy, noteworthy, and intriguing aspect of the life of Manny Manolas. And, there are more chapters of his resume and life that have yet to be written.

Manny’s Pizza House (487 South Nova Road; Ormond Beach, Florida; 386-676-9901; www.mannyspizzahouse.com) — where the atmosphere is warm and welcoming — awaits your arrival and my return. And, don’t forget to order tiramisu, toasted almond or the rice pudding – or all three — for dessert.