84-year-old opened Simones Hot Dog Stand
His restaurant was immersed in local and national politics.
LEWISTON – George Simones, whose downtown Lewiston restaurant became a touchstone for locals and their politics, died Saturday after a short illness. He was 84.
“He made everybody feel as though they were part of his family,” said the Rev. Theodore Toppses of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, where Simones was a lifelong member.
Politicians felt that way, too.
Several people have kicked off Congressional campaigns at Simones’ Hot Dog Stand. And when presidential candidate Al Gore came to Lewiston in the fall of 2000, that’s where people picked up their tickets to his speech.
“It became the place where you found the everyman,” said Toppses. And George Simones was the host, working there with his son, James, and his grandchildren until shortly before his death.
Born in 1918, George Simones served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He was with the 707th Signal Aircraft Warning Company, stationed in the Aleutian Islands off the Alaskan coast.
After the war, he returned to the family business and never left. Technically, he retired in 1982, passing the business to his son, James.
But he was often there, smiling and joking with the patrons he knew.
The family has been overcome with visits and phone calls since George fell ill, said his son Saturday.
“We are so moved by the outpouring of the whole community,” James Simones said. “You realize what a close knit community this is.”
Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 155 Hogan Road in Lewiston.
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