ASTORIA – The death of Costas Sergiadis, co-owner of the well-known Mike's Diner in Astoria, has shocked the local Greek community. The 59-year-old passed away on April 25 due to coronavirus after battling the virus for about a month.

According to a post by his partner Maria Iordanidou on Facebook, Sergiadis was admitted to the hospital in early April and was intubated as the virus affected his lungs. He sent a photo from the hospital and asked his partner to post it on Facebook, saying the virus was not funny.

Finally, in the early hours of Saturday, with a photo from inside the hospital and holding his hand, his partner said goodbye. “This should not have happened. You fought so hard. How can I continue without you? You waited until I came and held your hand and then said goodbye. Bon voyage, my love.”

Those who knew him and worked with him noted that he was generous, fair, and a very good boss. He helped people, he contributed and he was a stand-up guy.

Maria Kokodis told The National Herald that her father worked for 30 years for Costas Sergiadis. “Costas was always firm and fair to his employees. When other restaurateurs fired their employees at age 67, he kept my father on until he was 70. They had agreed that he would keep working but not as hard so he would still be contributing but could also rest,” she said. “He was a very fair boss, a straightforward man, not talkative, but always straightforward.”

She also referred to the generosity of the restaurant regarding the support for the Greek community events. "He was incredibly generous and the only one who gave funding to theatrical performances but also to people with special needs. Several times I was collecting sponsorships for such events and charities and my father used to tell me: ‘Go to Costas’. He always contributed.”

Costas Sergiadis bought Mike's Diner with Konstantinos Pavlakos from Alex Eliasov, the grandson of the man who first opened the store in 1928 and is perhaps the oldest in the Ditmars neighborhood in Astoria. Sergiadis had five children, three daughters and two sons.