Paul Kyros had little knowledge of the English language when he immigrated to the United States but never let the language barrier hold him back as he became owner of the Tin Angel Restaurant on Mt. Washington.
"He came over from Greece by himself," said his son, Dr. James Kyros. "He didn't know English but was able to pick up on it through work."
Mr. Kyros, of Churchill, died Friday, Oct. 20, 2006, at the Athens Medical Center-Marousi in Athens, Greece. He was 78.
Born April 1, 1928, in Delvinaki in the Greek state of Epirus, he was the son of Demetrios and Kostanto Kyros.
While living in Greece, Mr. Kyros obtained a high school education.
In 1947, he set sail to live with his father in Oakland.
"At that time, his father was in the United States for a long time and had already gained citizenship," said his daughter, Maria Kyros Menniti. "He actually sailed over with a U.S. passport because his father made him a citizen of the United States."
Mr. Kyros worked as a busboy at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association before becoming a waiter there.
He improved his English through night courses in Oakland.
In the early 1950s, Mr. Kyros and his brother-in-law, Tom Edgos, bought the Villa Monico in Oakland.
They sold the restaurant in the mid-1950s and Mr. Kyros began a nearly 50-year career at the Tin Angel Restaurant.
In November 1957, when the restaurant opened as one of the first on Mt. Washington, Mr. Kyros served as a bartender and manager.
After the death of the owner, he and architect Tasso Katselas bought the restaurant.
"As a young architect, Katselas pulled the plaster off the walls and exposed the brick, shortened the legs of the chairs and dimmed the lights in the dining room," Menniti said. "That made the restaurant a huge hit because no one had ever ate dinner up on Mt. Washington before."
On Feb. 28, 1994, President Clinton and British Prime Minister John Major had a summit meeting at the restaurant.
In addition to owning the Tin Angel, Mr. Kyros opened another Mt. Washington restaurant, The Edge, in the mid-1960s. He, together with others, owned the restaurant until it closed in the mid-1980s.
Mr. Kyros not only had a love for his business but also for his family and those in need.
"He was all about our family and making sure we had a chance to achieve more than he did," his son said. "Every year for the past 40 years, he would return to his village in Greece and donate money to the churches."
Mr. Kyros typically gave money to individuals rather than charities, his daughter said.
"Dad was generous," Menniti said.
The Tin Angel Restaurant was Mr. Kyros' life, and now his children own it, said Diane Plank, the restaurant's manager.
"It is a legacy that will be carried on through his children," she said.
Survivors include his wife, Antegoni Edgos Kyros; two children, Dr. James Kyros, of North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County, and Maria Kyros Menniti, of Churchill; four grandchildren; and a brother, Peter Kyros, of Salonika, Greece.
Visitation and services will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are by John A. Freyvogel and Sons Funeral Home, Shadyside.
