Gus Vlahavas, Owner and Familiar Face of Prospect Heights Fixture Tom's, Has Died

Gus Vlahavas, the owner of Prospect Heights' beloved Tom's Restaurant, died yesterday at the age of 76, due to respiratory complications. His family has owned the classic diner since the 1940s, and he was a fixture there for nearly as long. Although he gave up actually running the place back in 2009 (passing that job on to younger generations), he still could be spotted there on a regular basis, sitting at the lunch counter or helping to carry out the restaurant's long-standing tradition of passing around coffee, orange slices, cookies, platters of french fries, and various other snacks to the long line of people waiting for a table. According to DNAinfo, the restaurant serving breakfast and lunch as usual today.