Elias (Louis) Robis helped enrich the palate of Hamilton's beer drinkers.

In the mid- to late-20th century, the Steel City was largely a city captured by Blue, 50, IPA, Black Label or, maybe, a Carling Red Cap here and there.

In 1982, Robis and his business partner son, Mike, opened Chester's Beers of the World in a former men's clothing store beside the family's Granada Restaurant on King Street East, across from Gore Park.

Suddenly, local beer drinkers could taste the exotic beers of other nations. They might sip the malt and hops of a beer from Japan — say a Sapporo — or down a Grolsch, the Dutch beer known for its distinctive green bottle and its flip-top cap.

Hamilton was never the same.

Former restaurateur Tony Perri — who ran Perry's Restaurant in west Hamilton throughout the 1980s — said the arrival of Chester's was a "big deal" in the local restaurant industry and caused some of the other big places to increase the number of beers they carried.

"They were on the cutting edge of things," said Perri, now a Catholic school board trustee. "They were the first ones to bring in different kinds of beers or have different kinds of beers on tap. Before that, it was just Molson or Labatt. It certainly got our attention."

Robis — who died Sept. 13 at the age of 82 of complications from a stroke — had a feeling he was on to something when he and his son held a grand opening celebration for Chester's on April 14, 1982.

The menu concentrated on light foods, such as sandwich plates, and a few wines. But Spectator entertainment writer Eric Kohanik referred to Chester's as a beer drinker's paradise and that Robis and his son had assembled a choice of about 20 brands of bottled beer (with the promise of more to come).

Kohanik noted it had an old-fashioned speakeasy flavour that made the place look as if it just stepped out of the Roaring Twenties.

"Downtown Hamilton needs a place like Chester's," Louis told him, then adding, "and the location is perfect."

There was no special reason for naming the establishment Chester's.

"It's a name that's easy to remember and it was a name that was available," said Louis.

They did add more beers — it now features more than 300 imported and domestic beers.

Robis was born in Greece and came to Hamilton in 1956. He married his wife, Vasiliki (Bessie), the next year.

His son, Mike, said his father's first venture into the restaurant business was in 1962 when he bought Bar-Ken off two partners. The variety store and snack bar carried that name because it was at the corner of Barton Street East and Kenilworth Avenue North.

In 1972, Robis opened the Granada Restaurant at the downtown site of the former Russell Williams Family Restaurant, which had been damaged in a fire. The Granada was once one of Hamilton's top eateries and was mentioned in the same breath as The Sirloin Cellar and The Golden Garter. In 1980, it offered 31 main courses, from steaks and prime rib to chicken dishes and liver Venetian. Upstairs for a time, father and son operated Bumpers disco.

The Granada lasted until 1991. It was called Chester's Chophouse for one year and has been known since 1993 as Finger's Bar and Grill.

Robis was well-known for wearing natty three-piece suits. He would seat customers and would often walk around his place of business, checking to make sure customers were enjoying themselves. His son said he worked right up until he had a stroke in 2011.

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"He was a wonderful man," said Brenda Culbert, who started working for Robis at the Granada in 1978, and now works at Chester's as the manager. "He was very easy to work for, as long as you did your job. He was kind. He was fun and he basically taught us all we know — what to serve, how to serve it."

She added: "Louis was a true-blue gentleman. He was a good businessman for the downtown."

Robis is survived by his wife, Vasiliki (Bessie), son, Michael, daughter, Manie, two grandchildren and many nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by his sister Elefteria and brother Thomas.