ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997 TAG: 9704220104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER THE ROANOKE TIMES
"It gave her joy to see those smiling faces coming in every day," said her daughter, who followed her parents into the restaurant business.
Helen Poulos ran a restaurant as if it were an extension of her home, and the customers were like family.
Poulos, who co-founded Roanoke's Charcoal Steak House and DJ's Brasserie, died Sunday at her home after a sudden illness. She was 73.
Poulos and her husband, James, opened Charcoal Steak House on Williamson Road in 1956 and ran it until 1972.
James Poulos was the chef, and Helen Poulos managed the dining room, which allowed her to greet everyone who walked through the door, said her daughter, Rita Poulos. The practice continued at other family-run restaurants through the years, including the most recent, DJ's.
Rita Poulos and her brother, Deno, opened the restaurant with their parents in 1978 at Tanglewood Mall. They moved to the present location off Franklin Road where Helen Poulos was still a fixture.
"She always remembered a name and always remembered a face," Rita Poulos said. "For my mother, it gave her joy to see those smiling faces coming in every day."
One of those smiling customers was Jean Jones, who started frequenting the restaurant after her husband died several years ago.
"It was a place where I could go and feel at home," Jones said. She and Helen Poulos became close friends, and she marveled at Poulos' commitment to the business.
"She loved being at that restaurant every day and didn't want to miss a day," she said.
Even stronger than Poulos' commitment to the restaurant was the bond with her family.
"They are very dedicated and committed to family and religion and their business, and it shows," family friend Betty Triantafilles said. "They don't do things halfway."
Helen Poulos' best qualities are evident in her children, who are "very artistic, creative, dedicated, hard-working, very committed people," Triantafilles said. "She enjoyed seeing her children be creative and lead the business.
"She was an elegant, classic Greek woman."
Poulos' funeral will be at noon Wednesday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 linesby CNB