James “Jim/Big Jim” KARVELAS

1927 - 2012  (85 years)

• Name	James “Jim/Big Jim” KARVELAS  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Birth	1927
  Gender	Male
  HIST	of Sumter, South Carolina Helen’s obituary says she has a niece, Betty Poulos of Sumter, South Carolina, and 2 nephews, Mike Karvelas and Jim Karvelas, both of Sumter, South Carolina- I am going to make them all brothers and sister- and making their mother a sister of Helen- am I guessing correctly? jkh Are all the children listed to him his? or a one or more be the child/children of his sister, Betty? jkh of Sumter, South Carolina James 'Big Jim' Karvelas: 1927-2012 Big Jim's is shown after a rare snowfall a few years before it closed. Sumterites of all ages remember Basket Burgers, milkshakes, pizza and fine dining, but especially the exuberant personality of the late "Big Jim" Karvelas. BY IVY MOORE ivym@theitem.com Few Sumterites remember their very first trip to Big Jim's restaurant; that's because we returned so many times the memories melded into one happy experience of Pink Ladies, Basket Burgers, pizza, seafood, steaks and hot fudge cakes, all presided over by James "Big Jim" Karvelas himself. Karvelas, who died Sunday at 84, was the personality of Big Jim's - he's remembered by those who knew him as gregarious, big-hearted, a loyal friend and quick with a joke and a hearty laugh at a joke from a customer, but only if it was really funny. Alexandra "Sandy" Karvelas Huggins, one of Karvelas' three children, worked at Big Jim's from an early age, after school and weekends. "He was a wonderful dad," she said. "And through the restaurant, he became everybody's 'Dad.' Mothers would call the restaurant to get him to check on their teenagers, and he'd get on the loudspeaker (in the drive-in area) and tell them their mothers wanted them to come home. And they'd do it." Karvelas knew everyone, she said, from the teenagers getting curb service in their cars to the couples and high school athletes playing the pinball machines in the coffee shop and the mature customers in the Colonial and Carriage rooms. Big Jim's "became a 'destination point,'" Huggins said. It remained so until Karvelas' retirement in 2003. At that time, Karvelas talked to The Item about his popular restaurant and his career in the business. Like his son John and his daughters Huggins and Aphrodite Karvelas Konduros, "Big Jim" started young. His father, John, came to the United States from Greece in the early 1900s and got a job working at a New Jersey restaurant. Jim Karvelas was about 8 when he started hanging out with his father while he worked. The family moved to Sumter in 1944, and John Karvelas bought Jim's Waffle Shop on Main Street. Jim Karvelas and his father ran the business together until his father's death about 10 years later. Jim Karvelas sold the business and moved to Broad Street where he opened Big Jim's. He joked that the secret to his restaurant's longevity was "My brilliant personality," adding, "No, I don't know. You've got to be lucky, too. I made the moves at the right time - the curb service and then going into the dining room. And not being scared to take a chance. "You have to keep doing things to keep up with the times. You've got to be ambitious. You can't be lazy. ... You have to sacrifice. You have to decide where your priorities are. My father worked like that. I guess that's all I knew. That's the big secret to running a restaurant - diligence and putting in long hours." The growth of his restaurant was a testament to Karvelas' hard work and ability to know what people wanted. Big Jim's started out as a popular drive-in in the mid-1950s. Curb boys served up burgers, fries, pizza and milkshakes to teenagers who would cruise up and down Broad Street. It was a Friday and Saturday night tradition for teenagers to "cut" Big Jim's; for example, ride through the drive-in area to see who was there with whom, stopping to "hang out" and have a milkshake, a Thrifty Burger, or if you were really hungry, a Jimburger. Karvelas eventually built a restaurant and phased out the drive-in business, concentrating on the decor and atmosphere of his dining rooms and cocktail lounge. Big Jim's brought Sumter its first "big city dining room," - the Colonial Room, with curved booths inspired by the decor of one of Karvelas' favorite restaurants in Atlanta. But it was always his family that came first, Huggins said. Among her fondest memories are the two-hour basketball games in the family's driveway on Mattison Avenue, she said. "Dad would come home between lunch and supper, and we'd all play," she said. "Cars would stop, and people would get out and join in the games. Lawyers in suits, women in heels, everybody. After the game, Dad would go back to the restaurant for supper." When he disciplined his children, Huggins said, "He'd ask 'What did you do?' and 'What did you learn?'" The family is so close-knit, she said, "There wasn't a day that Dad didn't call each of us - Mom (Christine, his late first wife) and us kids - at least three times a day. We (siblings) still call each other every day." Shirley Williams, who now runs her own restaurant, worked at Big Jim's for 34 years, cooking and sometimes waiting tables, as well as running the cash register. Upon Karvelas' retirement in 2003, she had high praise for her friend and boss. She told The Item, "Mr. Jim has been like a father figure to me. He was always good to all of us - me and my children. I've seen his children grow up, and he's seen my children grow up. We had good times and we had bad times, but we always laughed through them and went right on, just like family." Working at Big Jim's was the only job Patti Hall ever had, or wanted, she said. "I worked with Jim for 39-and-a-half years," she said. "He liked for everyone to be happy and laugh at his jokes, but I had a lot of hollering (from him), too," she said laughing. "It was just his way," she said. "He was a wonderful boss. No matter if he got upset at you one day, the next day he'd give you the shirt off his back. He'd always say, 'Patti, you always hurt the ones you love. I'm sorry,' and we'd be fine. When people started working at Big Jim's, they'd stay there. Even after the drive-in part closed, the curb boys would come in to see him." Hall remained close with Karvelas after the restaurant closed. He'd call and visit her and her husband often. "He knew what time I had coffee every day, and I'd make sure I had baked molasses cookies," she said, adding "And Jim hated phone books. He'd call me to get people's phone numbers." Karvelas was "a No. 1 Gamecock fan," Hall said. "I was on the phone with Bebe (Aphrodite) when she was driving here to see her father last weekend. When she was driving past (Williams-Brice) stadium at 9 o'clock at night, she rolled down her window and hollered 'Yahoo! Go Gamecocks!' She said, 'Those will be Daddy's last words.'" Huggins and Hall both remembered Karvelas' love and support for his church, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Columbia. Hall said, "We made food for the Greek Festival each year, and we dyed eggs for Easter. Jim's church was very important to him." "Daddy took us to church there every Sunday," Huggins said. "He really helped build up that church." Harvin Bullock recalls his "great, close friend" from his first visits to Big Jim's for a Jimburger when Bullock was just a child and Big Jim's was "just a small building," he said. "If Jim liked you, he liked you," Bullock said. "There was no middle ground. He was an extremely loyal friend. Our families meant a lot to each other." Retired 3rd Circuit Court Judge David McInnis was one of the driveway basketballers. He said, "Everybody considered Jim a friend. His name preceded him - he was big in every way, in stature, voice, personality and loyalty to family, friends, his church and his university, the University of South Carolina. He started Big Jim's with a cinder block building and kept adding to it until it was the finest restaurant in Sumter. When people wanted to get together with friends, it was always 'I'll meet you at Big Jim's.'" Besides being a good friend and a successful restaurateur, Bullock said Karvelas "is a part of the history of Sumter; he's an icon. When the two of us would go to dinner, he'd sometimes talk about all the changes he'd seen in Sumter over the years. I saw him the day before he passed away and held his hand for a few minutes. I miss him already." Huggins said she and her sister and brother have a valuable legacy from their father. "Big Jim taught us to live life to the fullest, how to treat everyone fairly and with kindness, how to be self-sufficient," she said. "... how to spread our wings and fly. I'm sure going to miss him." A funeral service will be held today at 11 a.m. at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Sumter Street, Columbia, with the Rev. Father Michael Platanis officiating. Burial will be held at 4 p.m. in the Evergreen Memorial Park cemetery. Posted in Local news, News on Thursday, March 22, 2012 James Karvelas James "Big Jim" Karvelas, age 84, beloved husband of Grace Pitts Karvelas, died on Sunday, March 18, 2012, at his residence. He was a son of the late John and Aphrodite Karkania Karvelas, each of whom came from Greece. He attended the public schools of Jersey City, N.J., and later attended the University of South Carolina when his family moved to Sumter for business reasons in June 1944. He served with distinction in the Army Air Corp during World War II and later became the owner and operator of Big Jim's restaurant for more than 63 years. He was a 67-year continuous member of the Gamecock Club and lived to see Carolina football go 11-2. He was an active member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Columbia since 1947 and was a past president of the parish council. No one lived larger, joked harder, loved deeper, and cared more than Big Jim. We will miss his wit and his heart, and his telling us how to do it better. Surviving in addition to his wife are a son, John Karvelas and his wife, Donna, of Spartanburg; two daughters, Alexandra Huggins and her husband, George, of Carey, N.C., and Aphrodite Konduros and her husband, Sam, of Greenville; a niece, Eve Stegner of Sumter; a nephew, Michael Poulos and his wife, Julie, of Asheville, N.C.; a stepson, Jeremy Pitts and his wife, Anna, of Sumter; a stepdaughter, Ali Rogers and her husband, Jason, of Sumter; and step-grandchildren, Sydney Grace Rogers, Elizabeth Pitts "Liza" Rogers and Jackson Haynsworth Pitts. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Christina Stathopoulos Karvelas; stepson, Ryan Jackson Pitts; a sister, Elizabeth Poulos; and a brother, Michael Karvelas. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church with the Rev. Father Michael Platanis officiating. Burial will be held at 4 p.m. in the Evergreen Memorial Park cemetery. Pallbearers will be Dan Lyles, Leigh Leventis, Sean Mitchell, John Psomas, George Nickas, Angelo Trifos, Phillip Jackson, Peter Diamaduros, Peter Currence, Likie Beleos and Mitchell Dargan. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday with a Trisagion service at 7:30 p.m. at Bullock Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1931 Sumter St., Columbia, SC 29210. You may sign the family's guest book at www.bullockfuneralhome.com. The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter for the arrangements. Posted in Obituaries on Tuesday, March 20, 2012  [1, 2, 3, 4, 7]
  MILI	He served with distinction in the Army Air Corp during World War II.  [4]
  Occupation	owner and operator of Big Jim’s Restaurant, Sumter, South Carolina, for more than 63 years, he retired and sold his restaurant in 2003  [3, 4]
  _UID	A4FEF77B9DF84102B7B5CBB6884577F4114F
  Death	18 Mar 2012	at his residence, (Sumter, South Carolina)   [3]
  Burial	22 Mar 2012	Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [4]
  	Bullock Funeral Home, Sumter, South Carolina
  Person ID	I188102	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2015

  
  

  Father	John KARVELAS   d. Abt 1954
  Mother	Aphrodite Carcania/Karkania CARROS   d. Bef 1 Sep 2010
  Marriage	26 Jun 1926	Paterson, New Jersey   [2]
  _UID	E0F6EA0D0E5B461CAD954C350E355AF3EBF2
  _UID	E0F6EA0D0E5B461CAD954C350E355AF3EBF2
  Family ID	F127771	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Christina STATHOPOULAS   d. Bef 18 Mar 2012
  _UID	F6D0FF12A32643D88D5A3030D2B0F388FF9C
  _UID	F6D0FF12A32643D88D5A3030D2B0F388FF9C
  Children	1. Alexandra KARVELAS   2. Living   3. John KARVELAS
  Family ID	F127774	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

  Family 2	Living
  Family ID	F125790	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

• Sources

  [S7530] Helen Tsulis. [S14868] Michael Karvelas. [S17574] James ‘Big Jim’ Karvelas * 1927-2012 - Gregarious, big-hearted, loyal family man will be missed. [S17575] James Karvelas. [S206] Obituary of Ryan J. Pitts. [S22937] Sumter Native seeks S.C. Supreme Cour seat. [S2841] Sydney Grace Rogers.