Demakos, Nicholas

Nicholas Demakos

Early Life

Nicholas Demakos was born on May 16, 1894, in Pakia, Laconia, Greece. He spent his early years in southern Greece before immigrating to the United States as a young man, part of the broader wave of Greek immigration in the early twentieth century.

He settled in Rye, New York, where he resided at the Grand View Inn and worked as a waiter. At the time, Rye and its surrounding communities supported a growing hospitality industry, relying on immigrant labor to serve both local residents and visitors. Demakos’s early employment reflects his integration into American life and his role within this essential service economy.

World War I Service

Demakos registered for the draft on August 5, 1917, in the Town of Rye, New York, listing his residence at the Grand View Inn and his occupation as a waiter. At the time of registration, he had declared his intention to become a United States citizen and noted family members in Greece who were dependent upon him.

He was inducted into military service on June 24, 1918, at Port Chester, New York, as part of the Army’s wartime expansion under the American Expeditionary Forces.

Demakos was assigned to a Medical Company at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia, a major medical training center for the Army. There, personnel were prepared to serve in the expanding system of military hospitals supporting overseas operations.

He was later transferred to Base Hospital No. 85, one of the large medical units responsible for treating wounded and ill soldiers in France.Base hospitals formed a crucial part of the Army’s medical infrastructure, providing surgery, recovery care, and rehabilitation for troops serving on the Western Front.

During his service, Demakos was assigned duties as a cook, a role essential to sustaining both hospital staff and recovering soldiers. Reliable food service was a critical component of medical care, contributing directly to patient recovery and the overall functioning of hospital operations.

He served overseas from September 9, 1918, to July 19, 1919, participating in the final phase of the war and the post-Armistice occupation period. His record indicates that he sustained no wounds in action.

He was honorably discharged on July 25, 1919.

Life After Service

Following the war, Demakos settled in New York City, where he began a distinguished and widely recognized career in the hospitality industry. He became associated with the Gotham Hotel on Fifth Avenue, where he served for more than fifty years as a host and greeter, earning the nickname “Nick of the Gotham.”

Over the course of his career, he welcomed hundreds of thousands of guests, including prominent public figures such as broadcaster Lowell Thomas, film executive Spyros Skouras, actress Corinne Griffith, and international diplomats, including Greece’s ambassador to the United Nations. His reputation for hospitality and personal connection made him a well-known and respected figure in New York’s social and cultural life.

His contributions were recognized at a testimonial event attended by many of the notable individuals he had served throughout his career, reflecting the breadth of his influence.

Demakos also maintained strong ties to his native Greece, engaging in philanthropic efforts that extended his impact beyond the United States. He helped raise more than $110,000 for the construction of a hospital in Molai, Greece, as well as an additional $50,000 for a cultural center there, which was named in his honor.

Nicholas Demakos died on June 20, 1984, at the age of 90.

At the time of his death, he was survived by extended family and was remembered both for his military service and for his remarkable contributions to hospitality and philanthropy.