'Toast to the one and only Nick Petros': Founder of iconic Calgary restaurant passes away

The founder of a popular Calgary restaurant has died.

Nick Petros opened Nick's Steakhouse and Pizza in the city's northwest in 1979.

He and his family have run the eatery ever since, with his youngest son Mark now serving as the owner.

On Sunday, the Petros family announced on social media the patriarch had died.

Born in 1935, Petros moved to Canada from the small village of Kardiakafti in Greece.

"He'd come over from Greece at 19 years old, spoke no English and had $6 in his pocket and was determined to make a life," said his son Mark Petros.

"And he did -- he made a life for all of us."

Nick worked in the restaurant industry for decades as a dishwasher, busboy, waiter and manager before opening Nick's, using money he'd saved over the years.

He bought the prominent property along Crowchild Trail across from McMahon Stadium from another Calgary icon, Jack Singer.

It was a deal sealed with a handshake and backed by years of goodwill.

When the mortgage came up in the early 80s and Nick needed to renew his financing, that goodwill and trustworthiness paid off.

"The interest rate was like 22 per cent or something stupid, and zero interest on that second mortgage that he (Singer) bankrolled for my father because dad was a good human being and he wanted to help somebody," Mark said.

Although ownership passed to his son more than two decades ago, Nick still sat by the front door, greeting customers as they came in.

"He'd be sitting there and saying 'How are you today? Thank you for coming,'" said Dan Violini, who lives nearby.

Violini remembers the Snowtember storm of 2014, which dumped wet snow on thousands of trees, crushing many of them and knocking out power to his Banff Trail neighbourhood.

Along with a few others, he stayed warm and fed at Nick's until the power returned.

"He was an institution, he really was -- part of the community, part of the fabric," Violini said.

The restaurant still serves a buffet meal to the Calgary Stampeders the day before home games, as it has for 45 years.

Nick's son Tim Petros played running back for the Stamps from 1984 to 1990.

Tim passed away in 2020.

Maralyn Wilson has been coming to Nicks since it opened and still holds season tickets to the Stampeders right behind the Petros family.

"We always enjoyed going there because Nick was friendly, he was community-minded, he brought people together there," Wilson said.

"We've lost a very important part of Calgary."

Nick passed away on Sunday at the age of 87.

"Our family appreciates your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time," a statement said.

"Eat a delicious meal, have a glass of fine red wine and toast to the one and only Nick Petros."

Petros married his wife Joan in 1959 and the pair raised three children: Kim, Tim and Mark.