George Apostolos Giannaris of Lemoyne, PA passed away peacefully in his sleep August 20, 2020.
George was born in Neohorion Nafpaktias, Greece on April 18, 1932 to the late Apostolos G. and Maria (Papanikolaou) Giannaris. George survived the hardships of WWII and the Greek Civil War and immigrated to the United States in 1951, ultimately settling in Harrisburg, PA, where he took over the Belmont Restaurant on Chestnut Street.
During night school, George met the love of his life Christina Paraskevopoulos who passed away April 10, 2018. Together they celebrated 62 wonderful years raising their family, traveling, enjoying friends, and working long hours together realizing their American dream.
George opened the Coronet Restaurant on 2nd Street with his younger brother Konstantine "Gus" Giannaris in 1967 and went on to buy the Maverick Restaurant on Arsenal Road in 1974.
From beautiful roses from his garden, fresh local produce, meats and fishes, George embraced "Farm to Table" before it was in vogue. He was always creating new recipes which garnered a recipe request from Gourmet magazine. George wanted your experience to be personal, enjoyable and memorable. He and his staff made Maverick Restaurant the place to be.
A beloved restaurateur, husband, father, brother and friend, George was a consummate gentleman, a gracious host, most known for his kind and generous nature, warm hospitality and sense of humor. George loved people and people loved him. He loved his family, community, church and Greek Heritage. He loved being a grandfather and his grandchildren adored him.
He was a member of the AHEPA and the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the Neohoriton Society. He was very involved in the annual Greek Festival from its inception.
After retiring from the restaurant business, George loved spending winters in Jupiter, Florida with Christine. They enjoyed their friends in Jonathan's Landing and became active in St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church in Palm Beach.
He is predeceased by his wife Christine, son Paul Giannaris, brother Nicholas Giannaris.
He is survived by daughters, Maria (Mark) Gregory, Tina (Thomas) O' Malley. Daughter-in-law Stavroula Giannaris. Grandchildren Christina and Alexandra Thalassinos, Maxwell, Benjamin and Sophia Gregory, Georgios and Angelos Giannaris and great-granddaughter Ava. Sister Anastasia Daskalakis of Greece, brother Konstantine Giannaris and wife Tina, sister-in-law Fotini Giannaris and many nieces and nephews.
Viewing will be held on Tuesday, August 25, 2020 from 10-11am at the Holy Trinity Greek Cathedral. Due to the pandemic crises, the service and burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his honor to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 1000 Yverdon Drive, Camp Hill, PA 17011 or the Neohoriton Society.