SCHENECTADY – Spiro Mikropoulos, the owner of the popular Bellevue Café, died Wednesday of complications related to the coronavirus, according to his family and local businessman John Marcella.

On Thursday, an emotional Marcella said his friend of 60 years died Wednesday after spending nearly three weeks at Ellis Hospital. He was 74 years old.

The Bellevue Café has remained closed since Mikropoulos' hospitalization.

Marcella, who runs Marcella’s Appliance Center in Schenectady, remembered the good times he shared with Mikropoulos during trips abroad and visits to shows and restaurants. He described Mikropoulos as outgoing and energetic.

“His love for people made him a real success,” said Marcella “He was always giving.”

For example, Marcella recalled how Mikropoulos often handed out free fruit to breakfast customers at the Broadway restaurant.

He hosted an annual Christmas party where people would be regaled over prime rib and other delicacies, said relatives.

The two men shared milestones in life. When Marcella got married during a small ceremony on Feb. 15, it was at the banquet hall of Mikropoulos' cafe.

Marcella said he spoke with him two days before Mikropoulos ended up at Ellis.

“He calls me up because he knows I have a breathing problem to ask how I’m doing because he’s concerned, thinking about me and all this (coronavirus) and two days later he goes in the hospital,” said Marcella. “He was a genuine, beautiful person.”

Mikropoulos loved traveling the globe, and was also an avid soccer player, who also liked to watch American football on television.

Marcella said Mikropoulos got his start in the restaurant business in the early 1960s when he opened the Brandywine Diner, a longtime landmark on Brandywine Avenue in Schenectady.

In 1987, Mikropoulos, who was born in Greece, opened The Bellevue Café, which he operated along with his children.

As of Thursday, Schenectady County reported that 13 people, all but one of them over the age of 70, had died of COVID-19.

Former Schenectady City Councilman Vince Riggi, who lives in the Bellevue neighborhood, said Thursday that the Mikropoulos family "ran a good business, the price was reasonable, and the food was good."

Ray Faught, president of Bellevue Preservation, Inc. said Thursday that the owners of the Bellevue cafe have donated gift certificates when the group used to hold its summer picnics and other worthy causes.

"It's always crowded there, and I get take-out from there regularly," he said. "There's a lot of people from the neighborhood that go there and they've expanded a few times"

Faught's sister-in-law, Pauline Staszak, 78, and several of her friends have been patronizing the business for more than 17 years.

She would eat in and then order one of her favorites - the liberal-portioned hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce - to go.

"Their food is so good that it would last me a couple of days," said the Rotterdam resident, adding the gyros and soup were fabulous. "I just hope that they stay open and that the family can carry on the business because it is such a great business and such a great meeting place for everyone in Schenectady and the outskirts."