Athanasios “Tommy” Pappas, who founded Tommy’s Diner 35 years ago in Franklinton and turned it into a bustling hub for Columbus politicians, Downtown workers and anyone in search of a good meal, died Monday at the age of 71.
“His larger than life personality will be severely missed and will leave a massive void in our lives,” his son, Michael, posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page Tuesday morning.
Athanasios “Tommy” Pappas: Where Tommy presides: Gregarious owner of Franklinton diner celebrating 30 years
Tommy Pappas shares a laugh with diners (from left) Yuma Takashige, Rieah Borgia and Claire Lacey. Tommy’s Diner, 914 W. Broad St., has been a Franklinton institution since 1989.
Pappas presided over the governors, mayors, sheriffs, county commissioners and city councilmembers who regularly visited his restaurant at 914 W. Broad St. over the years. He remembered the names of customers who weren’t well-known, too.
“It’s like a party to him every day,” Michael Pappas of his father in a 2019 Dispatch video story for the diner’s 30th anniversary.
“He knew more people in the city than I did,” former Mayor Michael B. Coleman told The Dispatch for an article that same year.
“It doesn’t matter if you are Black or white, Democrat or Republican, old or young, a construction worker or a judge, you are welcome in that diner. And it all starts with Tommy, who is just a good man.”
Coleman, who served as mayor longer than anyone else in Columbus history, said he felt “I actually accomplished something” the first time he saw his picture on the diner’s wall.
Mayor Andrew J. Ginther issued a statement Tuesday praising Pappas’ contribution to life in Columbus:
“Tommy Pappas was, and will forever remain, a Columbus institution, a one-of-a-kind community pillar who quite simply never met a stranger. Always armed with a warm welcome and a friendly face, he demonstrated the power of kindness, friendship and partnership to build bridges and open doors. There is so much about our city that won’t be the same without his sincere and generous presence — from long chats over lunch at Tommy’s Diner to his trademark whirlwind tours through the Columbus Greek Festival — but his legacy will endure, and we will continue to find strength and hope and meaning in the life that he led. May his memory be eternal.”
Athanasios Ilias Panagiotopoulos — he changed his name to Pappas years later when his son was teased about it in elementary school — was born and raised in a small Greek village north of Sparta. He taught himself to cook at age 12, was drafted into the Greek army at age 21 and met his future wife, Kathy, while she was on a trip to Greece from the United States.
She agreed to marry him after he agreed to come to her hometown of Columbus.
Tommy and Kathy slept through their 3 a.m. alarm on Tommy’s Diner’s opening day, July 2, 1989. She said he prayed for rain in the early days so the people lined up outside the Florentine, a popular Italian restaurant across the street in Franklinton, would come to their place instead.
They’d eventually line up outside Tommy’s, or at least crowd inside. It was a regular stop for visiting national and international journalists during Ohio’s days as an electoral swing state. The diner was featured this year on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” the Food Network show hosted by Columbus native Guy Fieri.
“I’m honored to be his son and I look forward to continuing his legacy at the diner,” Michael Pappas said Tuesday morning in sharing news of his father’s passing.
(This story has been updated with additional information.)
Instagram: @dispatchdining
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Founder and owner of Tommy’s Diner in Columbus, Tommy Pappas, dies
