Work ethic helped dad clean up

Manuel Loupassi owned and ran the popular Robin Inn restaurant in Richmond's Fan District for 32 years.

And after the restaurant closed each night, he mopped the floor himself.

In 1993, when his son, Manoli, needed a job between his judicial clerkship and his job as a prosecutor for the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, "Papa Loup" gave him one -- as a dishwasher.

"He was very good," Manuel, now 72, recalled. "A very intelligent dishwasher."

Now 42, Manoli Loupassi is a successful attorney and member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing parts of Richmond and Chesterfield County. For all that he has accomplished, his father remains his role model.

"The most important thing I learned from him is about work ethic," Manoli said. "That this country gives you an opportunity to make it. If you work your hind parts off, you can do anything."

"He always tried to tell me to do the right thing and teach me the right way to do things," said Manoli, Manuel's only son and the youngest of three children. "For me, he was everything I wanted to be."

Manuel was a 7-year-old boy living in Crete when his father was executed by the Nazis for being part of the resistance to the German occupation of the Greek island during World War II.

At 21, he came to America and scraped together enough money to buy the cozy restaurant on Park Avenue and Robinson Street, which was going out of business. He didn't have the money to change the neon sign to "Manuel's Grill," so the Robin Inn name stayed.

For 32 years, Manuel oversaw virtually every meal that left the kitchen of the affordable restaurant, working nearly every day.

"He built a small fortune selling pasta for $3.50 a plate, plus bread and salad," said Manoli, whose father taught him how to treat people -- not just how to wash dishes.

"Always worry about the little guy," Manuel said. "Don't worry about the big guy."

Manuel handed over the mop when he handed over the restaurant to his daughter, Niki Loupassi, in 1995. But he picked up a ladder and tool box, and still works full time managing and maintaining about 250 apartment units he owns throughout Richmond. His tenants aren't the only ones who rely on him.

"If something comes up and I really need to know, I call him because he gives great advice," Manoli said. "Hopefully, my son will feel the same way."

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or .