Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Remembering the owner of Jake’s Bar
WEST CHESTER >> A West Chester business man, someone who lived in the area for decades and whose name adorns iconic Jake’s bar, passed away on Tuesday. He was 78.
Orazio Nastase, far better known in the community as Jake, has left behind an impressive legacy of giving, caring, and Jake’s Bar T-shirts scattered across the globe.
Nastase first arrived in West Chester during the 1960s to help his sister Rose manage what would eventually become Jake’s Bar after Rose’s husband, Potter, passed away.
“He’s just an all-around good guy,” said Richard Muth, a former Magisterial District Judge and current lawyer. “He was a gentle giant.”
Shortly after arriving in West Chester, Nastase met Bill Dunleavy, a roofing contractor and someone who would become a lifelong friend.
“I met Jake when he first came to West Chester,” Dunleavy said. “Jake came down and of course he never left.”
Dunleavy said the two did many things together, including a trip to New York City with their wives. And when Jake feel ill and was hospitalized, he made sure to visit him frequently.
When it came to his family, he was second to none in terms of his support for them.
“He was very, very good to his family,” Dunleavy said.
Another close friend of his, Bobby Spaziani, the owner of Spaz Beverage in West Goshen, likewise had similar praise for Jake.
“He made sure all his children had a great education,” he said. “His family came first.”
Spaziani said Nastase had attended Villanova University and served in the Marine Corps, and that “he’s always been there for me.”
Like Dunleavy, he would visit Nastase frequently while he was in the hospital.
“Everybody knew Jake,” Spaziani said. “He will be missed by a lot of people.”
Spaziani, like many of Nastase’s other friends, noted that it was not unusual
to find someone wearing a Jake’s Bar Tshirt outside of West Chester.
Muth also spoke highly about Nastase’s charitable giving, saying that he supported many causes, especially the military. He also helped support child cancer research, and even helped out his tenants.
“He would help some of his tenants from time to time,” Muth said, saying that he would sometimes
help them with furniture, money, and even food.
“Jake was a wonderful man who had a heart of gold and always made sure family came first,” said Magisterial District Judge Mark A. Bruno. “He loved his country, was a proud Marine, husband,
father and grandpop. The 500 block of South Matlack Street will never be the same.”