вЂњGee Whiz will be a family affair, and weвЂ™re going to make sure that my dadвЂ™s legacy, and what he worked so hard for, stays there.вЂњДЄlong with his children and wife Bibi Yasin, Panayiotou is survived by two grandchildren, and a sister and four brothers in Cyprus. Two of PanayiotouвЂ™s five children, Chris and Anthony, have been working at Gee Whiz and now all five, which also includes Christine Panayiotou and Kelly Panayiotou, will be involved, Margaret said. Margaret said that after her father entered the hospital вЂњhe was aware and worried about Andy, as he knew Andy was in the ER.вЂќ He was in intensive care when his former partner died on March 27, and was not given the news, she said. He met his future wife, Bibi Yasin, while working as a counterman at an Astoria eatery, and got acquainted with Koutsoudakis in the 1980s while the two worked at the now defunct Chelsea Gallery restaurant. from Cyprus at 18 вЂњwith nothing,вЂќ his daughter said, and graduated from Queens College.

вЂњIf thereвЂ™s one thing I would like everyone to know about my dad,вЂќ Margaret said, вЂњis that he would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need without caring about himself.вЂќ вЂњOver the years,вЂќ she added, noting that Gee Whiz helped the school in numerous ways, вЂњAndy and Pete were the best neighbors anyone could ask for.вЂќ I donвЂ™t remember when it was, but suddenly, shortly, there it was-Gee Whiz, the answer to our prayers. Tribeca at that time was a place where you could park your car anywhere, but forget getting a simple meal. The new staff had one universal complaint. вЂњ In 1987 the brand new PS 234 school building opened, flooded with kids. 234, across the street from Gee Whiz, sent the Trib a remembrance that applies to Panayiotou as well. He was family to us.вЂќДЄfter the death of Koutsoudakis, A nna Switzer, former principal of P.S. вЂњHe was a friendly person who greeted everybody. We would cater all our functions with Peter and he always gave us a discount,вЂќ said John Scott, who noted that Panayiotou also gave donations to the center. Greeting them and being a part of their lives,вЂќ recalled Elliot Fink, a Gee Whiz regular who had known Panayiotou and Koutsoudakis since their days as restaurant managers in Chelsea. вЂњPeter spent a lot of time taking care of the customers. People in the community remember Panayiotou for his friendliness and generosity. вЂњHe was there more at Gee Whiz than he was at home, and he always just wanted to keep all the community members happy and to provide for them.вЂќ вЂњGee Whiz and the Tribeca community was his second home,вЂќ Margaret said. Gee Whiz, at Warren and Greenwich Streets, is four blocks north of the World Trade Center. Panayiotou received a successful double lung transplant seven years ago,В after contracting scleroderma, a disease his daughter said was attributed to 9/11 dust. Panayiotou вЂ™s daughter, Margaret Panayiotou, told the Trib that her father entered the hospitalвЂ™s intensive care unit on March 26. вЂњIt was shocking to us that both Andy and him passed away,вЂќ said John Scott, a longtime Tribeca resident and president of the Independence Plaza Senior Center. The two Greek natives opened Gee Whiz in 1989 and remained partners there until Koutsoudakis opened TribecaвЂ™s Kitchen some 25 years later. Sinai Hospital in Queens, came just nine days after his long-time former Gee Whiz partner, Andy Koutsoudakis, succumbed to COVID-19.

The family gave the cause as complications of severe pneumonia, which led to heart and kidney failure. Peter Panayiotou, co-founder and owner of the restaurant Gee Whiz, a Tribeca institution, died on April 5.

Gee whiz diner