ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Perry Porikos sat in the street outside one of his five businesses, in a makeshift patio area that didn’t exist before the COVID-19 pandemic sent his best customers — University of Michigan students — back home in mid-March.
The Greek immigrant arrived here more than four decades ago as a 20-yearold soccer player for the Wolverines and part-time dishwasher at The Brown Jug Restaurant, which he now owns. He nonchalantly dropped names of sports stars like Tom Brady and Michael Phelps, two of the many former Michigan students he counts as friends, and recalled hustling enough to own more than 10 businesses at one time.
“Living the dream that people talk about, especially if you live in Europe and you come here,” Porikos said, “I am the dream.”
