Spyros Stanley, a Greek immigrant who became a Charleston legend — the “parking lot king” — while building a business empire from the ground up, died early Wednesday after a short illness, as ‘The Charleston Gazette’ reports. He was 84.
Spyros Louis Stanley was born Jan. 28, 1928, in Chania, on the Greek island of Crete. He immigrated to the United States in 1947 and was almost immediately drafted into the Army.
He served as a truck driver during the Korean War, during which he met his wife of 60 years, Kalliope, while stationed in Minnesota.
After returning to Charleston, he opened his first business, a restaurant called the Busy Bee Cafe, and began to buy distressed properties downtown.
Today his family holdings include five parking lots, Capital Car Wash, Village Auto and Adelphia Sports Bar and Grill.
Survivors include his wife, Kalliope; five children, Zoe (Charles) Bassos of Bluffington, S.C., and Louis, Andrew, Margarita and Constantine (Mindy) Stanley, all of Charleston; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Visitation will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Bartlett-Burdette-Cox Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at his church, St. John’s Greek Orthodox Church in Kanawha City.
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