Restaurateur was devoted to local Greek community
Mary Koulianos Palios was a founder of Palios Brothers, a South Tampa landmark until it closed a few years ago.
By MARTY CLEAR
Published March 10, 2006
MARY KOULIANOS PALIOS, 1916-2006
HYDE PARK NORTH - Mary Koulianos Palios had an unhappy childhood in Greece and, upon moving to Tampa, found herself in a city where almost no one spoke her language.
But she devoted herself to making other people feel at home. She and her husband, Michael, founded Palios Brothers chicken and seafood restaurant, one of Tampa's best-known restaurants, and were leaders of Tampa's burgeoning Greek community.
"Her house was always open," said her daughter, Helen Kalamaras. "Anyone was welcome, especially Greek people who were new to the area and didn't know their way around. That's just the way she was, very open."
Mrs. Palios died of congestive heart failure Feb. 24 at her daughter's home in Tampa. She was 89.
Mrs. Palios was born in Tarpon Springs to parents who had emigrated from Greece. Her mother died when she was 3 years old, and her father sent her to live in Greece.
"We will never understand why my grandfather did that," her daughter said. "She was like an orphan, and she was mistreated by the people she stayed with in Greece."
She returned to Tarpon Springs when she was 19. Not long after, she met Michael Palios at a dance. He owned a restaurant in Gainesville, and after marrying, they moved there.
"They had a wonderful marriage," Kalamaras said. "I had parents who truly loved each other."
But few Greeks lived in Gainesville in the 1930s, and Mrs. Palios, who spoke no English, was never very happy there. After a few years, she and her husband moved back to Tarpon Springs, and in 1940 they bought Tibbits Family Restaurant in downtown Tampa. The couple moved into a new house in Hyde Park North that would be the Palios family home for the next 60 years.
The restaurant was successful for many years but declined as business slowed in downtown Tampa, and it eventually closed. In the early 1960s, the couple opened Palios Brothers on MacDill Avenue, a South Tampa landmark until it closed a few years ago. By that time, Mrs. Palios' sons, John and George, had taken it over.
After traveling to Tarpon Springs for church every Sunday, the Palioses and a handful of other Greek Orthodox families who lived in Tampa organized St. John Greek Orthodox Church, which broke ground on Swann Avenue in 1956.
As devoted as she was to her restaurant and the local Greek community, Mrs. Palios was above all a mother and a homemaker. She started every morning and ended every evening by lighting incense and praying for her children and grandchildren.
"She was an awesome cook, and she kept her house very, very clean," her daughter said. "And she was devoted to raising her children. We went to Gorrie (Elementary), and even though we didn't speak much English, the teachers would always comment on how polite we were and how well-dressed we were."
Michael Palios died 21 years ago, but Mrs. Palios stayed in their Hyde Park North home until 2002, when she went to live with her daughter.
"She was just a very good woman," Kalamaras said. "She tried her very best in every single thing she did. That was just the kind of person was."
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Palios is survived by her son George, nine grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and two brothers. Her son, John, died last year.