Born Nichalos Harry Lykiar dopoulos in Cephalonia, Greece, an island in the Ionian Sea on Aug. 15, 1897. Nick left home at age 15 to find work. He got a job as a cabin boy to the captain aboard a ship, which was soon to leave him in Philadelphia. Not able to speak English he went to New York and seeked out Greeks, who gave him a job in a restaurant.

After W.W.I a cousin of his offered him a job in Elizabeth City where he had a boat being outfitted to take back to Greece. When this job wes over, Harry Poulos (No Relation) hired him to work in the Busy Bee Cafe.       Being ambitious he soon opened his own restaurant on Matthews Ave(Now Colonial Ave.) named the Whitehouse in August 1924.

He met Margaret Anna Koch, daughter of a German baker who migrated to Elizabeth City in 1886. They married in 1926 and raised six children. After he became an American Citizen in 1939 he legally changed his name to Poulos.       In 1927 he opened the Central Cafe on McMorrine St. inviting ladies to dine out. For

need of a larger place he moved to the Carolina Building on Main St. in 1933. 1940 saw him moving to the Southern Hotel. Feb. of 1943 he sold out, only to reopen the Cozy Grill in June of 43, back on Colonial Ave.       Having two sons (Bobby and Richard) in business with him, he now decided a new and modern restaurant was a must. In 1961 the old building was torn down and a new one rebuilt.       August5, 1974 Nick celebrated his Fifty Years in business offering prices the same as in 1924.     He died on Dec. 14, 1974. Robert Earl "Bobby" Poulos died June 20, 2008. Richard Poulos died July 3, 2011

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