Well-Known Secaucus Pizzeria Employee Dies Suddenly At Age 41

SECAUCUS, NJ — Regular patrons of Plaza Pizza in Secaucus are mourning the untimely — and stunning — death of Dimitrios "Jimmy" Hrisikos.

Hrisikos died unexpectedly at the age of 41 sometime between Tuesday, May 24 into Wednesday, May 25, said George Lioudis, his boss and the longtime owner of Plaza Pizza.

Hrisikos had worked as the main front counterman at Plaza Pizza for nearly the past 10 years, said Lioudis.

An exact cause of death has yet to be determined, but Lioudis said he thinks Hrisikos suffered some sort of cardiac episode or heart problem. Incidents of SADS, or Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, are being reported across the country lately. This is when an otherwise healthy young adult dies for no apparent reason.

"We are all just stunned and heartbroken at the news," shared the pizzeria owner. "He was one of my best employees. In 10 years, the only day he ever called out sick was May 24. Everyone has been rushing in to say how surprised and sad they are."

According to Lioudis, Hrisikos — who seemed healthy but "didn't believe in ever seeing a doctor" — was feeling fine, but then started complaining of a cough on Monday, May 23.

"He called me Tuesday morning and said, I can't come in, I feel awful; I didn't sleep all night; I've been coughing so bad," said Lioudis. "He went to Riverside Medical Center that Tuesday."

The doctor's office sent him home. The next day, Wednesday, May 25, Lioudis received a phone call from Hrisikos' landlady: She had found his body inside his apartment on First Street.

"Our kind and gentle friend, Jimmy Hrisikos, a longtime employee of Plaza Pizza, suddenly passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, May 24," Lioudis wrote on this GoFundMe. He started the GFM; all the money raised will pay to send his body back to Greece for a funeral and burial.

"I started the GoFundMe because two customers came in and when they heard Jimmy died, they gave what I would call 'substantial' donations to give him a proper burial," said Lioudis. "Since then everyone has been so upset. So I started the page because I figured more might want to give."

Hrisikos was born in Union City to Greek immigrant parents. However, the family moved back to Greece when he was 14 and he spent his formative teenage years there. Plaza Pizza regulars who knew him well knew he often spoke of his native Greece quite fondly.

But the terrible economy in Greece compelled Hrisikos to move back to America and resume his American citizenship. He had a cousin who drove a taxi cab in Secaucus and that's how he walked into Plaza Pizza one day ten years ago, looking for a job.

"He was the best employee I've ever had: He never missed a day of work," said Lioudis. "This Labor Day would have been 10 years he worked for me. He was the best front counterman."

Hrisikos liked the vibe in Secaucus so much he decided to move here with his cousin, the taxi driver, and the two shared a tiny apartment on First Street. He walked everywhere in town — the laundromat, Filomena's, Gro-Mart to buy his lottery tickets — and everyone knew him and said hello to him.

"He loved that," said Lioudis. "He really liked the small-town atmosphere of Secaucus and that he knew everybody and everybody knew him."

Hrisikos had a dry wit and a subtle sense of humor. He never once made a mistake even as the lines of Plaza Pizza were very long and hungry customers got cranky, and he kept business moving at a brisk pace. Lioudis said he was extremely grateful to find such an employee and said Hrisikos would be "hard to replace."

"He loved to tease customers and have a joke, but once you got to know him you knew he was only having fun. Every Wednesday night, he would go to his aunt's house in Union City for a home-cooked Greek meal. Once every two years, he would go to Greece for four weeks and see his mother, sister and family. But otherwise, he loved Secaucus and his life here."

Jimmy is survived by his family in Greece, his mother, Joanna, his sister, Maria, and his niece and two nephews.

Lioudis said his mother and sister are "taking his death especially hard."

Doctors have no idea what exactly caused Hrisikos to die.

"Jimmy was always a friend ready to lend a hand. Let’s lend Jimmy a hand and send him home," read his page.