The family of U.S. businessman John Dennis Georges, whose Louisiana-based business empire traces its roots to Greek immigration, is expanding into Greece’s real - estate sector through a newly established investment vehicle focused on residential and commercial properties.
The family has launched Nola Athens, a company capitalized with €2.5 million ($2.9 million), marking its first significant move into the Greek property market. The firm will acquire, manage and lease residential and commercial real estate assets, according to corporate filings.
Ownership of Nola Athens is evenly split among five members of the Georges family. John Dennis Georges, founder and chief executive of Georges Enterprises, his wife Dathel Coleman Georges, Alexandra Georges Coleman, Eliza Blaise Georges and John Dennis Georges Jr. each contributed €500,000 and hold a 20% stake. John Georges and his son, John Dennis Georges Jr., will jointly manage the company and are authorized to represent it independently.
The investment represents a return to the family’s ancestral homeland more than a century after its roots were established in the United States.
The Georges family is among the most prominent Greek-American business families in Louisiana. Its story began with Gus Pelias, the grandfather of John Georges, who emigrated from Greece to New Orleans in the early 20th century. In 1916, Pelias founded Imperial Trading Co., a small distribution business that would evolve into one of the largest privately held enterprises in the U.S. Gulf South.
Over successive generations, the family expanded the business beyond wholesale distribution while maintaining family ownership. Under the leadership of John Georges, the founder’s grandson, the enterprise developed into a diversified investment group with interests spanning food distribution, media, real estate, construction, entertainment and commodities.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Georges studied business administration and accounting at Tulane University before joining the family business. Today, Georges Enterprises oversees a portfolio of more than 50 companies and has become one of Louisiana’s most influential privately held business groups.
The family is also well known for its philanthropic and civic activities. John Georges has served as president of the Greek Orthodox Community of New Orleans and played a leading role in rebuilding the city’s Greek Orthodox church and Greek Cultural Center following Hurricane Katrina. The family has supported numerous educational, cultural and community-development initiatives throughout Louisiana.
