'Arthur' Kyranis, former owner of Maria's Restaurant, remembered for his generosity

Fred Hanson, The Patriot Ledger
·2 min read

BRAINTREE − Athanasios "Arthur" Kyranis is remembered both for his generosity and his chicken parmesan.

Kyranis, who owned Maria's Restaurant on Quincy Avenue in East Braintree for four decades, died July 9 at his Braintree home. He was 86.

Born into a Greek family of nine children, he immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s.

In 1979, he and a partner bought Maria's Restaurant, which was started by Maria and Adriano Furlani in 1950. Kyranis bought out his partner in 1993, and the restaurant stayed in the family until it suddenly closed a year ago, in part due to Kyranis' illness.

Gac Lusha and Edmond Cela bought the business and reopened it as Maria's Trattoria in April.

"His whole life was that restaurant," recalls Sean Powers, a former town councilor. "He was the man at the front of the house all the time. They treated their customers like family."

A Greek immigrant, Athanasios "Arthur" Kyranis ran Maria's Restaurant in East Braintree for more than four decades. He died July 9 at age 86.
A Greek immigrant, Athanasios "Arthur" Kyranis ran Maria's Restaurant in East Braintree for more than four decades. He died July 9 at age 86.

He said Kyranis was generous to a variety of local causes.

"He did not say no to anything," said Powers, who chairs the town's July 4th Celebration Committee.

He said that one year, the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Team came to perform at the celebration and organizers needed to find a place where they could eat. They asked Kyranis, and he treated the two dozen Marines to a large spread.

"There was no bill for that," Powers said.

He also kept the restaurant open so plow drivers could have a place to eat during storms, Powers said.

The former Maria's Restaurant on Quincy Avenue in Braintree.
The former Maria's Restaurant on Quincy Avenue in Braintree.

Diane DiBona, who worked at the restaurant for decades, wrote a history of Maria's for its website. She said Maria's was "the quintessential family restaurant" and Kyranis "ran a tight ship."

Mayor Charles Kokoros remembers Kyranis as "such a huge part of this community. A generous, kind man. He was a true gentleman and we will miss him greatly."

Kokoros' favorite dish at the restaurant was the chicken parmesan.

"He maintained the highest quality of food in all the years he operated the restaurant," Kokoros said. "There'll never be another one like it."

More: 'The menu is going to change every day': A fresh, new Maria's opens in Braintree

Kokoros, whose father is Greek, said Kyranis is "another story of a Greek immigrant coming to this country and becoming so successful through years of hard work."

Kyranis is survived by his wife of 55 years, Dimitroula "Toula" (Zisi) Kyranis; his son, Aristotelis "Artie" Kyranis; his daughter, Alexandra Kyranis, and her husband, Nikolaos Gourousis; two grandchildren; and many other relatives in this country and abroad.

Funeral services have been held. Memorial donations can be made to St. Catherine's Greek Orthodox Church, 119 Common St., Braintree MA or Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Office of Development, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'Arthur' Kyranis, ex-owner of Maria's Restaurant in Braintree, dies