Greek immigrants Nicholas Matheos and wife, Maria, visited Yorktown in the early 1940s, shortly after they married in New York. The couple decided to settle in Virginia.
“I want to be an American,” said Matheos, eventually changing his name to Nick Mathews. “What better place to live than where independence was won?”
Matheos and Maria Aris Papamihalopoulou Americanized their names, translating Greek to English, and became well-known as the owners of the iconic Nick’s Seafood Pavilion.
The exhibition “Patrons & Patriots: The Legacy of Nick and Mary Mathews” at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown tells the couple’s impact on the Tidewater area and their philanthropy.
In 1972, the couple donated 22 acres near the Yorktown Battlefield to build the Yorktown Victory Center for the 1976 bicentennial. The center is now the Yorktown museum; the couple is buried on the grounds.
As the nation prepares for the 250th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence next year, the museum thought it fitting to remember the couple.
The exhibition shows how Nick and Mary opened a modest Yorktown lunch counter in 1944, which became the Pavilion, an opulent 450-seat restaurant along the waterfront.
The former restaurant had a national reputation, known for its grand décor. The exhibit recreates it with almost life-size mosaic tiles of ancient Greek artworks, china and waitress uniforms reflecting Greek heritage.
The restaurant was also known for its seafood, especially Nick’s signature Lobster Dien Bien. Celebrities such as John Wayne and Elizabeth Taylor were diners in its heyday. Families went there to celebrate special occasions. Above all, it was known for hospitality, said Senior Curator Sarah Bevan Meschutt.
“Mary was known for visiting tables asking people if they enjoyed their meals,” she said.
Meschutt added that hospitality was extended to uniformed military members, who received a complimentary meal.
Mathewses' philanthropy extended to churches, civic groups and the 1980 restoration of the Statue of Liberty in New York. The exhibit includes awards for their civic contributions, including Nick’s honorary doctorate from Christopher Newport College (now university). Meschutt joked that Nick referred to himself as “Dr. Nick” after receiving the award.
Mary made history in 1984 by becoming the first naturalized citizen to sponsor a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Yorktown, CG-48, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser. Just days after her husband’s death in April 1983, she went to Pascagoula, Mississippi, to christen the warship. Later, she arranged for the ship to be commissioned at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown on July 4, 1984.
“It was the first time a ship was commissioned outside the Mississippi shipyard,” Meschutt said.
The exhibit includes a sculpture, “Freedom’s Sentinel,” on loan from the York County Historical Museum. The American Revolutionary War soldier is made from leftover ship parts. It has the first crew members' signatures on it.
Mary’s chiffon wedding dress and Nick’s tuxedo, as well as many photographs, are from the couple's private collection.
“Mary kept everything,” Meschutt said.
Recollections of friends, family and colleagues are recounted in a video. Nick died in a plane crash in 1983 and Mary died in 1998. The restaurant was severely damaged during a hurricane in 2003 and later demolished.
Visitors can honor the couple’s patriotism by writing a postcard to a service member for the United Service Organizations, USO, to deliver.
The exhibit, which runs through July 27, is included in the admission to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.
