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2017 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 839
Celebrating the life of Gus George Pappas.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 3, 2017
Agreed to by the Senate, February 9, 2017

 

WHEREAS, Gus George Pappas, Roanoke’s “Hot Dog King” and the patriarch of the Roanoke Weiner Stand restaurants, died on August 26, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Gus Pappas was born Konstantinos Georgios Papakostantinou in Greece, where he worked at his parents’ cafe and apprenticed as an electrician; he was also a professional soccer player in Greece, before a knee injury ended his career; and

WHEREAS, Gus Pappas arrived at Ellis Island, New York, in 1955, and went to work for his uncle at the Roanoke Weiner Stand, a business the family opened in 1916; and

WHEREAS, when Gus Pappas arrived in Roanoke to work the assembly line at the Roanoke Weiner Stand, an order of “one with,” which is a standard hot dog with mustard, chili, and onions, cost 15 cents; and

WHEREAS, Gus Pappas took over the Roanoke Weiner Stand in the 1970s and in 1984 the business was so successful that he opened a second location; and

WHEREAS, the Roanoke Weiner Stand and Gus Pappas became fixtures in downtown Roanoke and, according to legend, Gus Pappas could prepare 25 orders of “one with” in one minute; and

WHEREAS, Gus Pappas worked from before the sun rose to after it went down, and when the restaurant was open, he was almost always behind the grill; and

WHEREAS, Gus Pappas worked at the restaurant six days a week and on Sundays, his day off, he and his family went to Olive Garden, where he always ordered spaghetti and meatballs; and

WHEREAS, even after Gus Pappas retired in the 1990s, he still spent most of his time at his restaurants, visiting with generations of loyal customers and mentoring store managers; and

WHEREAS, the Roanoke Weiner Stand, the oldest eating establishment in the city and an icon of the Roanoke Valley, turned 100 years old in 2016; the restaurant’s chili is made from a family recipe that Gus Pappas guarded tightly; and

WHEREAS, a lifelong bachelor, Gus Pappas was a great and proud uncle and his family meant as much to him as his Greek culture; he will be remembered for his youthful and generous spirit by all who knew him; and

WHEREAS, Gus Pappas will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his nephews and niece, Gus, Arthur, Anna, Arthur, and Georgios, and their families; a host of relatives in Greece; and good friends in and around Roanoke; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Gus George Pappas, Roanoke’s “Hot Dog King” and the patriarch of the Roanoke Weiner Stand restaurants; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Gus George Pappas as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.