I’ll never forget my last hug from George Loizides, the “Smiling Greeter of Pine Avenue,” who died last week.
Because of ill health recently, George had not been at his regular spot every day — welcoming customers coming to eat at his namesake George’s Greek Cafe.
But he was feeling better one day last summer and, there he was, greeting everyone with a smile and a hug, just like he had been doing for 20 years.
His eyes lit up when he saw me, and he thrust out his arms and gave me one of the strongest hugs I had ever received from him.
He shrugged off his lung cancer woes and, instead, wanted to know two things: How was I doing and how was my family. That was just like George. He didn’t want to talk about himself.
He wanted to know about you.
When I told him my family was doing great, his eyes sparkled. He told me there was nothing more important in life than family. Then he gave me another hug.
I didn’t know it would be the last one.
After battling emphysema and cancer of both lungs, George, a heavy smoker, passed away peacefully at his Long Beach home Tuesday morning, Oct. 15, surrounded by those most important to him, his family. He was 83.
After I wrote his obituary, I received dozens of comments from readers, including Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, all saying exactly the same thing about George: he was the kindest, most compassionate, friendliest person they had ever met.
It almost seemed like customers went to George’s restaurant as much for his smile and hug as for his great Greek dishes. I think George was one of the most beloved persons in Long Beach.
Steve Goodling, president and CEO of the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, called George an icon, representing what Long Beach is: personal, heartfelt hospitality.
“Everyone loved getting their smile and hug from George,” Goodling told me. “Even if it was a tough morning, George made sure you started the afternoon with a fresh outlook.
“While visiting George recently, although he was in great pain, he still had that sparkle in his eye and a firm grip while holding my hand,” Goodling said. “He was always such a positive, loving and optimistic person.”
George was born in 1936, one of eight children, in a small Greek village on the island of Cyprus. It was in the middle of the Great Depression followed by World War II. The family was poor and George moved to South Africa for a job in a general store selling household products.
He eventually settled in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and raised three children with his wife, Rodoulla. When civil unrest engulfed the country, the Zimbabwe government confiscated all of his property and money, leaving him with only $500 to emigrate to the United States with his wife and three young children — Jimmy, Rip and Nicky.
George took somewhat menial jobs to keep his family afloat in Long Beach.
“We were dirt poor, but my father said we would be all right because we were a family and would stick together,” said his daughter, Nicky Loizides Clair.
As his children got older, they decided as a family to get into the restaurant business. They opened George’s Greek Deli in 1999 in a vacated art studio on Pine Avenue at Third Street.
And that’s where and when George started greeting customers with his legendary smiles and hugs as they entered the restaurant, according to Jimmy.
“After surviving so many obstacles and adversity in his life, he was so grateful that people would come and eat in the restaurant,” Jimmy said. “He loved customers, and they could do no wrong in his eyes. He would get tough on the staff if he ever heard a customer complain about something. A few times he got so angry he walked miles to his home on the eastside to cool off.”
But that didn’t happen often. With great food and great customer service, the business grew and the family added restaurants in Belmont Shore and Lakewood. With George as the patriarch, all of the restaurants had a friendly, family atmosphere. The environment even fostered something of a Cupid atmosphere among customers.
“Many of our customers proposed to their partners in the restaurant,” Jimmy said. “And a lot of people had their first dates with us.”
Cupid also shot his arrows into the restaurant staff. Jimmy himself married Karen Hunter, an employee. Other staff members got married, including my daughter, Katie, and her husband, Jeff Andrs. It must have been love at first sight over a tray of spanakopita or baklava.
“We sprinkled love in the food,” Jimmy joked.
Jimmy and Nicky said their father was a great comfort to them when they had problems in their younger years, but they found out later he had used a little parental trick on them to make them feel better.
“He would say to me, ‘You know I love all of my children equally, but you are my favorite,’” Jimmy said.
“We all found out later that he would say the same thing to each of us at different times,” he said with a grin.
George had a special place in his heart for his grandchildren: Jimmy’s George and Marshall, Nicky’s Dori and Gia and Rip’s Lauren.
“He constantly spent time playing games or coloring or just talking to them,” Nicky said. The grandkids called him “Papou,” Greek for grandpa.
A few years ago, George told a reporter for the Grunion Gazette that the best birthday gift he could ever have would be to see his grandchildren get married.
Lauren Loizides is the oldest grandchild and first to get engaged. Her wedding date is Nov. 16.
“He so wanted to see her get married,” Nicky said. “I believe he was hanging on for her wedding. On Sunday he smiled from ear to ear when he saw my cousin on Facetime. She lives in Greece and is coming here for the wedding.”
As George’s health weakened and he had trouble speaking, Jimmy said he had final words with his father.
“As he was lying in bed, I said to him, ‘Thank you for being the father you are and for making me the man I am,” Jimmy said. “He looked into my eyes, and he squeezed my hands and then he was gone.”
A private funeral service will be held for George next week. A public Celebration of Life will be held at George’s Greek Cafe, 135 Pine Ave. at 4 p.m. Nov. 3.
I’m sure George will be there in spirit greeting everyone with a smile and a hug.
