Recently, Stella’s homespun comfort must have also charmed some scouts for Bon Appetit. Word from the famous food magazine’s editorial office in Los Angeles is that Stella’s has been chosen for an upcoming issue that will highlight favorite neighborhood restaurants across the country.

Last week, a writer for Bon Appetit called the small corner restaurant at Main and Shields streets to request photos of the place and a menu, says Dikos’ daughter Katrina Giavos. The writer also asked specifically for Stella’s linguine a la Greek and babaghanouj recipes, Giavos recalls.

But Bon Appetit is tight-lipped about details of the project.

“We’re in the preliminary stages of doing research for an issue on neighborhood restaurants,” confirms an editor for Bon Appetit by phone from Los Angeles. The feature could likely be in the September issue, she says. “We don’t want people to know,” the editor remarks, adding cautiously: “We don’t want to put misinformation out there.”

So even Giavos and her mother are left guessing, somewhat.

“They didn’t give specifics,” Giavos recalls about two phone calls she says she has received from the magazine. “It didn’t seem like they wanted to talk too much about it.”

Giavos and her husband, Johnny, own Sidewalk Cafe and several other Richmond restaurants. They helped Stella reopen the restaurant at its Main Street location five years ago. Before that, Stella’s had been on Harrison Street for 12 years.

Giavos says the secret of her family’s success in the restaurant business is simple: “We just do what we know how to do.” — B.W.