If you have ever been in a food court in a business tower or a shopping mall, you invariably have seen the Jimmy the Greek sign.

Behind that man, Dimitrios (Jimmy) Antonopoulos, was an inspirational woman: Eleni (Helen), his wife of 53 years.

Both of strong stock with no education or money when they came to Canada, Jimmy and Helen’s entrepreneurial spirit ended them up in the food industry, the staple employment of so many Greek immigrants.

“My father and mother came from extremely humble beginnings,” their daughter Toula Antonopoulos said.

Yes, from poverty to riches, that’s the success story of Jimmy The Greek, which has grown to more than 56 locations in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba.

Sadly, the business will have to do without the matriarch and one of the original founders. She died April 6 at 75 after a long hardship with renal problems.

The love affair between Helen and Jimmy was an arranged marriage by their parents. The pair swapped photos, Helen liked what she saw and married Jimmy, who was a shepherd tending to the care of goats and sheep at the family farm in Greece.

Helen and Jimmy moved to Canada from Nafplio, Greece, in 1963, living for several years in Montreal where Jimmy learned the ropes of the food industry by making sandwiches in the cafeteria of a Woolworth store. The couple moved to Toronto where Jimmy secured employment in the cafeteria at two, long-gone, downtown institutions: Tamblyn Drugs and Boots Drug Store.

When Boots closed its cafeteria, Jimmy met the famed Reichmann brothers, of Olympia and York fame, who advised him that he could step in, get space and the chance to set up a restaurant in First Canadian Place — on one condition. He had to go to New York and check out the concept of an eatery. He memorized the menu and gave his approval. That’s how the Epikourion Restaurant began in 1977.

With Helen helping out by preparing meals and handing out drinks, Jimmy poured his heart and soul into the Epikourion, working seven days a week for long hours.

“The first year, it was brutal. He lost 60 pounds because of all of the stress,” his daughter Toula said. “He was emaciated. He was basically half the man.”

One thing Eleni wouldn’t do was allow Jimmy to mortgage the family home in Scarborough in order to give the Epikourion more breathing room. Soon however, the Epikourion was out of the woods and Helen and Jimmy founded the Penelope Restaurant in 1982 across from the Princess of Wales Theatre on King St.

In 1985, the couple’s major breakthrough came when they were tipped off about a space opening up in a food court at First Canadian Place on King St., located not far from the Epikourion. They agreed to take on the lease.

The couple got brainstorming about what to call the new eatery. When Jimmy first came to Canada, the customs agent asked him what his name was and he replied Dimitrios.

“In Canada, Dimitrios is Jimmy,” the customs agent told him.

So Jimmy the Greek became the moniker. Helen and Jimmy never wavered from the original concept of freshly prepared, quality food served in quick fashion from a counter in business towers and shopping centres. Think chicken souvlaki, rice, roasted potatoes, salad and tzatziki sauce, which was Helen’s favourite menu item along with loli water and baklava for dessert.

Although the Antonopoulos family never says no, there are no plans to expand to Quebec and the Maritimes. New venues to be opened are the Yonge-Eglinton Centre, the Londonberry Mall in Edmonton and the Winnipeg Outlet Collection Mall.

“After our first venue got started, some customers asked if it was a franchise business. We didn’t know what franchise meant but we pursued the idea,” Toula Antonopoulos said.

“After all of these years, we only have one corporate store, the first one we opened. The rest are franchised stores. My mother used to work at the corporate store many days until four years ago when she wasn’t able to work.”

Toula left her job as a probation and parole officer to join the family business at her parents’ request and she works at the head office at First Canadian Place. Jimmy, 77, stills go to the newly renovated flagship store twice a week to keep abreast of what is going on.

Helen was beset by kidney and renal problems most of her life, leading to an eventual kidney donation from her daughter Tina.

“A few weeks ago, a mother had some issues and we rushed her to emergency,” Toula said. “Her body rejected the kidney. Her blood pressure kept plummeting. Then on March 25, she didn’t look good. So we took her to St. Michael’s. She fought so hard to live.”

Helen Antonopoulos leaves Jimmy, her daughters Toula and Tina and six grandchildren. A funeral service was held April 11 at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on Thorncliffe Park Dr. Among those paying their respects were suppliers, distributors, customers, franchisees and tenants of First Canadian Place.

“My mother was a woman greatly admired and loved,” her daughter said.