Longtime Tribeca Restaurateur Andreas Koutsoudakis Dies at 59 Due to Coronavirus

Another well-liked New York City restaurateur has died due to complications resulting from COVID-19. Andreas Koutsoudakis, who ran popular neighborhood diner Tribeca’s Kitchen and has been doing business in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, died on March 27 at a hospital on Staten Island, according to the Tribeca Trib. He was 59.

Koutsoudakis reportedly tested positive for the virus on March 12, and was admitted to the hospital on March 21 as his condition worsened, according to the NYC Hospitality Alliance, a group that represents thousands of restaurants across the city. He remained in intensive care until he died on Friday. Koutsoudakis is now the second NYC restaurateur known to have died from complications related to the virus following the death of trailblazing chef Floyd Cardoz.

Koutsoudakis died just two weeks after temporarily closing his business for the duration of the ongoing coronavirus crisis. A message on Facebook said the restaurant closed “in order to support the city’s efforts and in order to keep our guests, team, and community safe and healthy.”

His son Andreas Koutsoudakis Jr. posted a tribute to his father on Facebook writing, “mommy and I want you to know we miss you dearly. You sacrificed your life for us until the end of your time on Earth.”

The restaurateur left the Greek island of Crete at the age of 14 to move to the United States, opening Tribeca’s Gee Whiz diner in 1989 along with his business partner, Peter Panayilotou. He sold the diner in 2015, just a year after he opened Tribeca’s Kitchen, on Church Street near Duane Street. “He was an old-school New Yorker, with a deep commitment to family, love and community,” a statement from the NYC Hospitality Alliance reads. “He was a roll-up your sleeves type of worker.”

Tribeca’s Kitchen was a favorite among NYC politicians, and several mourned his loss on Twitter including City Council speaker Corey Johnson and NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Koutsoudakis’s family has started a GoFundMe page to provide medical supplies to the Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island, and for other hospitals in need.

• Andy Koutsoudakis, ‘Warm, Cheerful’ Tribeca Restaurateur, Is Virus Victim [Tribeca Trib]