On Monday, the staff of Cosmos Pizza and Grill didn’t turn on the lights or unlock the door.

The popular and long-standing restaurant on Marshall Street offered a single explanation on a sign on its door: “Closed today for funeral. We’ll miss you George.”

The Friday death of George Cannellos, co-owner and founder of Cosmos, adds a note of sadness to an important time in the restaurant’s history. Cosmos, which opened in 1963 and is among the oldest establishments on Marshall Street, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

“(Cosmos) is an institution,” said Bill Nester, manager and co-owner of Manny’s on Marshall Street. “I tell people all the time, ‘If you want a real piece of Marshall Street, go have lunch or go have dinner at Cosmos.’”

Cannellos was a highly visible part of Cosmos’ tradition, said Nester, who has known Cannellos for 30 years. He described Cannellos as a “workaholic” who considered the university his family and loved being near his friends and relatives at Cosmos.

Until a few years ago, Nester said, Cannellos was always visible in the front window of the restaurant, throwing pizzas in the air and wearing a ragged, black Syracuse University National Championship baseball cap. The hats were gifts from Nestor and Manny’s.

“It would always make me feel good to see him wear it,” Nester said. “And he wore it until it was a rag.”

George had great pride in Cosmos, spending many long hours in the restaurant working and interacting with customers, said his son, Stephen Cannellos. He often joked around with his restaurant patrons, and his sense of humor allowed him to say things that others could not get away with, he said.

“Cosmos was a big part of his life,” he said.  “He was on a stage; while he was entertaining people, he also gave them food.”

George worked in food services prior to opening Cosmos in 1963 with his brother-in-law, Demo Stathis, Stephen said. The two operated concessions together at Suburban Park, an amusement park in Manlius, N.Y., that closed in 1973.

When the pair decided to open Cosmos, Stathis, an accountant, did the bookkeeping while George served as operational manager, Stephen said.

George also had entrepreneurial experience prior to opening the restaurant, Stephen said. George ran his own auto mechanic service station, and built and raced his own cars. This was a lasting interest, and he continued racing into his eighties.

“He was always quite a good mechanic,” said Francis Blasi, George’s neighbor and friend on Robineau Road in Syracuse for more than 30 years. “He was always willing to come over and help me with my car.

Blasi added that George had a “heart of gold.”

A passion for SU athletics, including basketball, football and lacrosse, was one of the reasons George chose to open a business on Marshall Street, Stephen said. George was an avid sports fan and he and his wife, Corinne, were season-ticket holders at the Carrier Dome.

He lived in Syracuse his whole life and attended several classes at SU to pursue an engineering degree after graduating from Morrisville State College, Stephen said.

These factors made Marshall Street and the SU community an appealing market for Cosmos.

In addition, SU’s food services in the 1960s were not as extensive as they are today, Stephen said, so there was a great student demand for alternative food options, especially on weekends.

Cosmos met this demand in the 1960s, and continues to offer students an escape from dining hall options even now, despite improvements in SU’s food services. Cosmos offers a rare and important experience, said Steven Papazides, manager at Acropolis Pizza House.

“They make homemade food, something your grandmother would make. You’ve got to have a lot of respect for that,” he said, adding that not many restaurants like Cosmos remain.

A close relationship with SU kept George in tune to the interests of the students.

Cosmos has evolved to serve these interests in the past 50 years, Stephen said. The restaurant expanded 15 years ago in response to long lines of customers, and the menu has expanded from the original menu of pizza and sandwiches. Cosmos now offers breakfast all day, as well as spaghetti and salads, among other options, Stephen said.

Thousands of SU students have worked at Cosmos during the restaurant’s 50 years of operation, Stephen said. His father often greeted customers, especially athletes and coaches, by first name, he said.

Even in the last two years, when heart problems forced George to do prep work in the back of the restaurant rather than making pizzas, these friends often stopped by Cosmos to see George’s familiar wave and smile.

“He’d call me up and say, ‘You’ll never believe who I saw today,’” Stephen said. “Almost everyday, he’d see somebody from the past.”

These friends include former SU athletes Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Floyd Little and Carmelo Anthony, as well as sportscaster and SU alumnus Mike Tirico, said Lisa Webber, George’s daughter, in an email.

George was also a familiar face and part of the camaraderie among employees on Marshall Street, said Chris Colletta, assistant manager at the Blue Monkey Cafe and junior bioengineering major.

“It’s almost as if Marshall Street had a small fraternity of workers,” he said, explaining that workers at the various restaurants help each other out because they all work with the same demographic.

Both Marshall Street and Cosmos lost an important part of their identity in George, said Nestor, the Manny’s manager and longtime friend of George.

“We’ll carry on his traditions and keep his memory alive,” he said. “Will things be different? We’ve lost someone we love. How can it not?”

Published on January 16, 2013 at 11:31 pm