Valley Stream diner owner dies in crash

Valley Stream diner owner Athanasios Cheliotis was killed in a head-on crash on July 4 on his way to work. At approximately 6:40 a.m., Nassau County police said, a car driven by a 23-year-old woman on Merrick Road in Bellmore collided with Cheliotis’s 2001 Toyota Camry, which eventually burst into flames.

A nearby police officer pulled the 66-year-old Cheliotis from the vehicle shortly before it caught fire, but after being rushed to Nassau University Medical Center, police said, he died at about 7 a.m.

Known to many as Tommy, Cheliotis was the co-owner of the Concord Diner, on Fourth Street. “He was a very good man,” said his partner, 61-year-old Charlie Tsemplis. “I’m going to miss him.”

Cheliotis is originally from Tzoumou, Greece. He and Tsemplis, a fellow emigrant, met while attending the same school in their home country.

Cheliotis came to the U.S. in 1969, and lived in New York City and Valley Stream before moving to Wantagh. He worked at several places, including coffee and doughnut shops, with his father and brother. In June 1981, he and Tsemplis bought the diner.

They are members of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Merrick, where, Tsemplis said, fellow members are deeply affected by the loss.

Cheliotis leaves behind a wife, Kanella; two children, Kostas Cheliotis and Diane Aykaz; and two granddaughters. Kostas, 35, remembered his father’s constant smile and kind demeanor. “He loved helping people however he could,” Kostas said. “He was a great man who was always there for his friends and family.”

Growing up, Cheliotis did not have an easy life. His family was very poor, and he had to support his younger sister and two brothers, his son said. “He never hesitated in the amount of dedication and hard work that he put into his family, neighbors, cousins, church and business,” Kostas said. Despite the hardship, he added, his father “couldn’t have been any happier.”

A wake was held on Sunday, and the following day, Tsemplis closed the diner for Cheliotis’s funeral. Those who attended the wake ranged from diner employees from the 1980s to current employees and customers, Kostas said. One waiter, a South American immigrant who had worked for Cheliotis for 21 years, said he had treated him like a son. “He taught him what it means to have a family,” Kostas said.

Julie Mansmann contributed to this story.