Fifty-four years ago, a beaming young M. John Mavrodis posed for a photograph with his U.S. citizenship papers.

Last week, Mavrodis had that same look of pride and confidence as he reflected on his career as the longtime proprietor of Johnnie’s Restaurant and Lounge.

But there also was a sadness in his eyes: At age 75, Mavrodis is giving up control of the business that has become a downtown Johnstown institution.

“I still want to come to Johnnie’s,” Mavrodis said as he sat at a wooden table in the restaurant’s high-ceilinged dining room.

“Of course,” he added quickly, “I’ll be a customer.”

Mavrodis this weekend is handing over his business to Southmont resident Tim Corcoran. He acknowledges that selling the 415 Main St. building and its first-floor restaurant was a difficult decision.

“You know, we cannot live forever,” Mavrodis said. “I want to enjoy my family and my grandchildren.”

Family members helped Mavrodis get his start in Johnstown.

His father, also named John, was a Greek immigrant with American citizenship living in Pittsburgh when he volunteered to fight in World War I.

The soldier eventually was awarded a medal for bravery for capturing 45 Germans.

The elder Mavrodis then returned to Greece to marry and start his family. The younger Mavrodis was born in 1932 on a Greek island.

While Mavrodis’ father again served America during World War II, his family stayed on the island of Cyprus. But soon after the war, the elder Mavrodis became ill and died at age 53.

“He was a brave man, but we lost him very young,” Mavrodis said.

In 1947, at age 14, Mavrodis decided to come to America. Johnstown was the destination because an uncle owned Morgan’s Cafe.

It was at the cafe on Market Street where Mavrodis’ career in the restaurant business began.

‘I had the confidence’

With little knowledge of the English language, Mavrodis received an education in two places: At the cafe, and as the only teenager enrolled in elementary school.

“I started first grade at the Union Street school, and the desks weren’t big enough,” Mavrodis said with a smile.

With extra help from his teachers, Mavrodis cruised through six grades in two years. He finished high school by taking night classes.

He worked at two other restaurants before founding the Mission Inn on Main Street in 1959.

“I had the experience. I had the confidence,” Mavrodis said. “I was young.”

A decade later, he opened Johnnie’s next door. With Bethlehem Steel Corp.’s mills still booming, downtown was a busy place.

“Saturdays, you were bumping into people outside on the street,” Mavrodis recalled.

He had just renovated Johnnie’s when the 1977 flood hit, devastating the downtown.

“We had water up to the bottom of those pictures,” he said, pointing to frames hanging on his dining room wall.

Though it took more than four months to reopen Johnnie’s, Mavrodis says he never thought of relocating.

But the flood inflicted a heavy and lasting toll on Johnstown, setting the stage for Bethlehem Steel’s eventual exit. As the local economy took a sharp downward turn in the 1980s, downtown crowds faded.

‘No better boss’

Mavrodis closed the Mission Inn after the flood. But Johnnie’s has prevailed, and the restaurateur credits his family, customers and employees.

“My success I attribute to the good friends that I have made,” he said.

Those friends have exhibited loyalty that’s highly unusual in the often-fickle restaurant business.

Tom Beiter began working at the Mission Inn in the early 1960s, and he has been tending bar at Johnnie’s since the establishment opened.

His dedication is heightened by the fact that his boss may have saved his life: Beiter says Mavrodis helped him kick a drinking habit more than two decades ago.

“During the time that I’ve been here, there’s no better boss,” Beiter said. “He’d take the shirt off his back if you asked him for help.”

Mavrodis’ community involvement has made an impression on George Arcurio III, a longtime organizer of the annual All-American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament.

“Johnnie Mavrodis can’t be replaced,” Arcurio said.

He recalled that, during a recent AAABA Tournament, a manager asked where his team might find some food between the two games of a doubleheader.

“Within 30 minutes, Johnnie sent down a boxed lunch with sandwiches for the teams,” Arcurio said. “We offered to pay, and he said, ‘If it helps the kids, I’m glad to do it.’ ”

‘Miss the people’

Mavrodis, a Richland Township resident, says he plans to stay involved with local affairs.

He still owns three downtown buildings, and he wants to remain on Johnstown Redevelopment Authority’s board.

“I’m a property owner, and I want to see progress in downtown Johnstown,” Mavrodis said.

After so many decades in the restaurant business, Mavrodis says he will not miss the work.

But, he adds, “I’m really going to miss the people.”

One of those people is Mary Gruss, the legendary Johnnie’s waitress who worked with Mavrodis for 60 years. Their association dates to the days of Morgan’s Cafe.

Gruss’ career likely ended in January, when she broke her leg while on the job at Johnnie’s. But she had a simple tribute for her longtime employer and friend.

“He was no boss,” Gruss said. “He was a real guy.”