Ioannis Nikolaos “Yianni” Tentomas, a restaurateur and entrepreneur who spent his retirement years serving ice cream to young residents of Manhasset, Flower Hill and Port Washington, has died.
Tentomas was 72 when he died on Sept. 18 with his family by his side in Athens, Greece, according to his nephew Nikolas Kapelonis.
Born on June 10, 1948, to parents Eleni, from the island of Mani, and Nikolaos, from the island of Andros, Tentomas grew up with six brothers and one sister in the Paleo Faliro area of Athens.
In 1965 at the age of 18, Tentomas came to America with his wife, Despina, whom he met in school at age 14. There, while living in Astoria, Queens, he reunited with his brother Michael, who had immigrated a few years earlier and managed the Hickory House restaurant on Park Avenue in Manhattan, where Tentomas was able to work “almost immediately,” according to Kapelonis. During this time, he also drove a taxi at night, working 19 hours a day for seven years.
After more than a decade working at Hickory House, in 1977 Tentomas went into business with a close friend and opened Eden’s Restaurant on 34th and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, served “many dignitaries and celebrities over the years” until he sold the restaurant in 1983.
Now a father of four, and having moved to Flushing, Queens, Tentomas bought and ran 15 hot dog, kebab and ice cream carts for five years inside Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. He worked 18 hour days seven days a week.
In 1988, Tentomas sold his carts and business to close friends and purchased a villa for him and his family close to his birthplace. He also opened a steakhouse in the Glyfada neighborhood of Athens called Ponderosa, where his nephew says he “served famous celebrities as well as sports icons vacationing in Greece.” Tentomas sold the restaurant in 1997.
Along with his brothers Michael and Gregory, Tentomas would live in Athens in the fall and winter and travel to a home in Farmingdale in spring and summer. In 1998, his brothers began to work ice cream routes for the Farmingdale-based Circus Man Ice Cream, and Tentomas joined in.
It was during this time, when Tentomas was assigned to the Manhasset, Flower Hill and Port Washington areas, that he began a 20-year career as “Pappou Yianni,” the northernmost North Shore’s beloved ice cream man.
In the comments on a local Facebook post announcing his death, parents of Tentomas’ customers recalled his warmth and status as a “bright spot” in their children’s summers, including him giving children pieces of candy if they recited the Greek alphabet or other Greek words to him, and referred to him as an “inspiration” and “icon” of the community he served.
“Yianni was the kindest man and well loved by the kids and parents,” one commenter wrote. “I hope he knew how much [the area] loved and cared for him.”
“He remembered every kid’s name,” another wrote.
“The greatest ice cream man ever,” a third wrote. “He truly loved the kids.”
Tentomas would continue traveling between Long Island and Greece until 2018, when he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, following a recommendation from Kathy DeRosa of the Manhasset-based DeRosa Foundation to get his stomach checked. Almost immediately, the locals he served decided to give back.
At a fundraiser at the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Port Washington, Tentomas was presented with gifts and a check for $19,000. Later stomach surgery was a complete success, his nephew said, and he remained cancer-free until he died.
Tentomas was predeceased by his brothers, Dimitrios, Chrysanthos, Michael, Gregory and Kostas. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Eleni, Dimitra, Vasiliki and Nikolaos; his sister Joanna and brother Georgios, and by his seven grandchildren, whom he called “his pride.”
“He loved everyone in Manhasset like family,” Kapelonis said.
