Falk Brothers Continue Leo Landis' Legacy

Leo's just celebrated two anniversaries.

James and Phil Falk have owned Leo’s since 1971, making it their 40th anniversary. Several owners had the property beforehand, marking 70 years, almost.

The first known name of the bar and restaurant was called South Side Restaurant established in 1942. Details are sketchy as to who owned it. The name was changed to Mid-Way sometime afterward.

The second owner was Leo Landis, a Greek immigrant hailing from a small village near Patras. In the 1920s, without knowing any English, he joined his uncle in Ohio. During the Depression he moved to Astoria, Queens while he bused and waited tables in New York City.  Landis saved his money, eventually moved to Hempstead and bought the Mid-Way Lobster and Steak House in Garden City.

Athene Landis Craig, Landis’ daughter, now lives on Mercer Island in Washington. “Because the restaurant was downtown, mid-way from east and west Garden City, it was named Mid-Way. Some have thought it had to do with the Battle of Midway during WWII, but that is not the case,” she pointed out.

Originally, Mid-Way was a businessman’s retreat, Craig explained. “When Newsday [then located in Garden City] put the paper to bed, they would all come over to us. Dick Morseman was a photographer for Newsday and he took several photos of our place... As for beer, my father wanted to please his customers so he carried the European beers like Lowenbrau, Karlsberg and Tuborg, which were considered high-end.”

Landis advertised in the Guidon, the Adelphi College (now University) student newspaper as early as 1949 with “delicious food, reasonably priced.” However, Craig stated, “In the early 1960s, when the Garden City Pool closed for the night during summer, younger residents would stop there. The drinking age then was 18. Additionally, my father befriended an Adelphi University student and encouraged him to invite his friends to Mid-Way. Night after night the place was packed to levels reaching the fire-code maximum.”

Landis and his wife, Victoria, changed the name to Leo’s Mid-Way around 1964 to 1966, since everyone in town was referring to it as Leo’s anyway.

Craig reminisced, “Dad was the quintessential bartender. He remembered everything about his customers: their drinks, their families, everything. His place was a ‘personality’ bar.”

Landis was very involved in community affairs, having been one of the founding members of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in 1950, originally located on Greenwich Street in Hempstead.

Many beers have been poured, many stories told and many dinners served since that time.

The current owners are James and Phil Falk. Always the businessman, Phil left college in order to buy Leo’s in 1971 with his older brother, James. To make sure he knew the Leo’s customers well, he worked part-time with Landis for six months beforehand.

Craig said that Landis and Phil got along so well that when it came time to buy the business, her dad gave the brothers $5,000 worth of liquor stored in the basement as a gift.

Business was going so well for the Falk brothers that by 1983 they expanded into the corner building housing Hazel Smythe Real Estate and Travel. The additional property was the earlier site of Cushman’s Bakery and Garden City Temple of Music Store before Smythe, according to Althea Robinson, executive director of the Garden City Chamber of Commerce. With the additional property, the Falks created a family-friendly restaurant along with the bar.

Leo’s is still known for its attentive service and warmth of the patrons who all seem to know each other. It's Garden City's version of "Cheers."

James and Phil Falk have continued Landis’ good civic deeds. They support sports in Garden City through their donations to various groups.

"One of the chamber's longest members, Leo's joined the chamber in 1979. Throughout their 32-year membership, Leo's has supported numerous chamber-sponsored activities and has graciously hosted its board breakfasts each year. In 2004, for their entrepreneurship and community service, the chamber named the Falk family owners ‘Business Persons of the Year.’ And, to my mind, Leos makes the best Cobb salads in town!" Robinson said.

For information on Leo’s, visit www.LeosGardenCity.com or call 516-742-0574. To read more about their anniversary celebration click here.