'He was one of a kind.' Well-known Fayetteville restaurant owner dies of COVID complications

Christmas is very different for many of us this year. For some, it's different because we didn't travel, but for others, there's an empty seat at the table - a void.

This is the first Christmas the Fayetteville restaurant owners, known as the Three Musketeers, won't be together.

The youngest brother, Vic Kalevas recently died from complications of COVID-19. Kalevas was a personal friend of WRAL Fayetteville Reporter Gilbert Baez. He spoke with Kalevas' two brothers who are celebrating the way that he lived.

Baez said a big fear for reporters is coming up on an accident and the victim is someone they know.

"I knew Vic Kalevas. He was a golf buddy and a friend and he is going to be sorely missed by this community," said Baez.

"He was one of a kind," said Dino Kalevas, Vic Kalevas' brother.

The family came from Greece in the 1970s seeking the American dream. Dino, Greg and Vic Kalevas found it in the restaurant business.

Vic owned Hot Diggidy Dog on Roxie Avenue.

"He was a very hard-working man. He started working at 12-years-old making sandwiches at Baldino's. He worked for 44 years," described Dino Kalevas.

"We grew up with a lot of love in the family. Since [we came] from Greece, we never argue, we never fight," said Greg Kalevas.

Vic Kalevas tested positive for coronavirus on Nov. 20. Less than a month later, he died from complications from the virus.

His brothers said Vic was a giver. He was a fixture at the annual Spaghetti Dinner put on by Fayetteville’s Greek community.

"He done for the cancer society, for the children he raised money. He raised a lot of money for the children's hospital," said Dino Kalevas.

The Kalevas family said they now have new respect for the virus and can't understand why people refuse to wear a mask, like one customer who recently came into the restaurant without one.

"That guy told me, 'You come here and talk to me with that thing on.' You know what? I just lost my brother the night before. You know what I told him...guess what? [He] hit the door," described Greg Kalevas.

Greg and Dino Kalevas said they now cherish the pictures of fond memories of a life taken too soon.

"We've got to be serious. It's a serious situation ... it hits home and it hit home for us," said Greg Kalevas.

The two men now cherish the pictures and fond memories of a life taken too soon.

Vic Kalevas was laid to rest last week. His family said more than 5000 people offered condolences on his social media page.