‘My dad had a lot of years left’

Tribute honors Our Place owner, who died of complications from COVID

MIDDLETOWN — Friends, family, city residents and regular customers gathered in front of Our Place Restaurant on Friday night to memorialize owner Panagiotis “Peter” Kokis, a city staple since the 1970s who died of complications from COVID-19 Oct. 6.

The eatery is located at 2100 S. Main St. in Middletown, near the Durham town line.

His son, William “Bill” Kokis, said the event was “very emotional,” and that he was happy to see such a large turnout. “It showed they had the same appreciation for him that my father had for his customers,” Kokis said.

Employees shared this appreciation as well. Cary MacDonald, who has worked at Our Place for over six years, helped organize the vigil after a number of customers reached out to her.

“They wanted closure, too,” said MacDonald, who admitted she did as well. “We miss him. He meant so much to everybody.”

The crowd of approximately 70 people gathered in front of the eatery, many holding candles, with others placing flowers near the memorial. Members of the Middletown Police Department and the city’s South Fire District

also attended the event.

Kokis expressed how grateful he was for the members of those organizations, adding it is another indication of how his father had deep roots in Middletown.

“Everybody in the community knew my father,” Kokis said. “Everybody loved him.”

After arriving in Connecticut from Greece in 1968, Peter Kokis decided to make a lifelong career in the food industry. In 1976, he opened his restaurant in Middletown, originally named Pizza King Restaurant. In 2013, the name was changed to Our Place Restaurant.

His son said that his father loved hanging out in the dining room, and sitting down to talk with customers, oftentimes forming a special relationship with some of them.

“It’s a family-oriented type of business,” Kokis

said.

In fact, Kokis said, he worked side by side with his father for many years before branching out to open his own business, and later starting a family. This is a memory, among many others, that his son will cherish.

“I miss our fishing trips, I miss having coffee with him,” Kokis said. “My dad had a lot of years left.”

For now, he said, the family is taking matters day by day, but they have already begun talking about the possibility of reopening the restaurant.

“Obviously, I know the customer base wants us to open up again,” Kokis said. “That’s what our plan is, but you never know.”

Kokis said that there are a lot of obstacles that will have to be overcome first, but “we plan on pushing through.”

His father will be taken back to Greece, where he will be buried with family.

Cary Macdonald / Contributed photo Candles surround the photograph of the late Panagiotis Kokis, who died Oct. 6 of complications from COVID-19. A vigil was held Friday night in memory of the Our Place restaurant owner at 2100 S. Main St., Middletown.

William V. Kokis / Contributed photo An early photograph of the late Our Place restaurant owner Panagiotis Kokis.

Cary Macdonald / Contributed photo Restaurant patrons and community members take part in a vigil for the late owner of Our Place restaurant in Middletown, Peter Kokis, outside the restaurant in Middletown on Friday.

A photo of the late Panagiotis “Peter” V. Kokis on display during a vigil Friday for the late owner of Our Place restaurant in Middletown.