For more than four decades, James Brahos ran a popular Greek diner tucked inside the ground level of a vintage building known as Barrister Hall in the heart of the Loop.
Courtway Restaurant, a dimly lit, windowless eatery, offered counter and table seating and served daily breakfasts and lunches to people from all walks of life — lawyers, bankers, politicians and even a few judges — many from nearby offices who over the years became regulars.
“It didn’t matter if you were a street cleaner or the mayor’s son, he treated everybody with the same respect,” said his son, George.
In his restaurant at 29 S. LaSalle St., Brahos was a figure in perpetual motion, moving from one operation to the next while doing his best to keep his customers happy.
“He was a hands-on guy who juggled a million things at once, but always took the time to put people at ease, usually with his corny jokes,” said his son, who worked at his family’s restaurant for 15 years. “He knew his customers and gave them what they wanted — a good meal, fast service and a comfortable place where nobody would bother them.”
Brahos, 94, of Beach Park, formerly of Chicago, a decorated World War II veteran, died Aug. 19 at Lake Forest Hospital following a bout of pneumonia, his family said.
“He was a very likeable person, such a good man,” said Edith Howard, a waitress at the restaurant for 35 years. “I’d get there in the morning and he’d say, ‘Good morning, Edie,’ and when I left it was always, ‘You have a good evening.’ In between, he made my job a lot easier just by making sure things ran smoothly,” she said. “He was the best boss I ever had.”
The son of Greek immigrants, Brahos was born in Minneapolis but moved a year later with his family to Chicago’s North Side.
After graduating from Amundsen High School in 1941, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and was a tail gunner aboard B-24 bombers and participated in 37 missions over Germany.
“He saw planes collide in mid-air,” said his daughter, Pamela. “He felt the terror of looking out the window and watching puffs of black smoke from artillery shells exploding all around him.”
Following his military discharge in 1945, Brahos was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Stars, Sharp Shooters Medal and four Bronze Stars, and years later wrote a war memoir titled “Tale of a Tail Gunner.”
“He had kept a journal that helped him recall in great detail the battles he’d fought and the harrowing moments he experienced,” his daughter said.
Brahos opened the Courtway Restaurant in 1946 with the help of his father. Ten years later, he married his wife of 61 years, Bessie, who worked as a cashier and hostess at the restaurant.
In 1989, he sold the restaurant, which remained open under the same name, until it closed several years ago.
“That last day we worked together was really tough,” recalled Howard, who continued on at the restaurant until 2010. “Even though he came to visit all the time, we all still missed him so much.”
Brahos and his wife lived in the Edgebrook neighborhood on the Northwest Side, until moving to Beach Park 12 years ago.
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In addition to his wife and children, other survivors include a brother, Lee.
Services were held.
Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.