By Alan Burke
DANVERS — It takes more than flags and parades to be an American.
Kyriakos Andrinopoulos, co-owner of Brothers Restaurant & Deli in Danvers Square, embraces the patriotic glitter — it's all over his restaurant, the flags and photos of famous Americans. It's more than show, too. Kary, as he's known, has a reputation for contributing to community activities.
Greek-born, he served in the peacetime Greek Army as the equivalent of second lieutenant. Now a U.S. citizen — "I'm very proud of that." — he hasn't forgotten what citizens owe to the men and women who protect the nation. Thus, his devotion to veterans has been "unfailing," according to the Drapeau-McPhetres Post 180 in Danvers.
Vietnam War-era veteran Bob Blanchette of the Post regularly brings his uncle to Brothers. The infirm World War II Navyman gets careful treatment.
"Everybody knows him," Blanchette said. "He's treated well. ... If I didn't have this place to bring him, I don't know where we'd go."
It was with such things in mind that yesterday the Post presented Andrinopoulos with its first "Annual Americanism Award."
"It's for someone who shows a great deal of respect for the veterans," Blanchette said.
Among other things, he cites Andrinopoulos' yearly observance of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. That observance began at Kary's home and grew so large that he eventually moved it to the restaurant.
Ironically, it wasn't any great longing for America that brought Andrinopoulos here as a man in his 20s. It was love. He met his wife, Pat, back in southern Greece and in 1972 chased her to the North Shore. The patriotism grew over time during a journey that took him from sweeping floors at Sylvania to establishing Brothers with partner Ted Kougianos, who is actually his brother-in-law, married to Pat's sister.
The restaurant was a fixture in Peabody Square before moving to Danvers, where many old customers followed and new ones discovered the reasonable prices, huge servings and varied dishes.
It didn't seem odd at all for Andrinopoulos to adopt a policy where he could from time to time — for no apparent reason — break into everyone's meal by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. About 99 percent of the diners, he estimates, will stand and join in.
It's more than jingoism; America has a specific value for Andrinopoulos. He likens its democratic traditions and representative government to the values developed in ancient Greece. Hitting still closer to home is the American ethic.
"There is the freedom," he says in a slight Greek accent. "They give you the opportunity here, if you work hard, to get as far as you can. ... It is the opportunity to be successful."
Andrinopoulos has a literary bent. In 2005, Pat called to inform him that civil rights icon Rosa Parks had died. At first, the name was only vaguely familiar. But the study of history is one of his passions and soon he recalled Parks' story, how she had taken a place reserved for white people on a bus in the deep South.
Parks' actions are credited with helping to spark the revolution that some say culminated with the election of America's first black president half a century later.
Her death moved Andrinopoulos to take up his pen. Writing in his native language, he composed a brief poem in classic Greek form. Yesterday, someone asked him for a rough translation.
"You stay with dignity," he recited. "In the throne of the beast/In the seat of the whites/In the front of the bus."
In Parks' triumph, Andrinopoulos sees a bit of himself. "The system told her you can't stay in the front of the bus." She wouldn't let that barrier stand. Likewise, Andrinopoulos came to America boasting a degree in economics but knew little English. His menial job at Sylvania meant sweeping and mopping the floors.
He wouldn't let that be the end of it. He worked, studied, took risks and eventually became a supervisor there and, later, the boss at Brothers. Governors, U.S. vice presidents, movie stars and sports heros have posed for pictures with him, and the evidence is all over the walls of his restaurant.
But Andrinopoulos hasn't stopped striving. Along with his wife and sons, he can frequently be found behind the counter, dishing out the food or manning the cash register. For that matter, he adds, "I still do the floors sometimes."
He makes it sound like a very American thing to do.
