Anastasious "Tom" Michalopoulos (January 22, 1950 – April 21, 2021) was a Greek-born Canadian entrepreneur, businessman, president, and founder of

Coffee Time Coffee Time is a chain of Canadian snack and coffee shops, headquartered in Scarborough, Ontario. Coffee Time operates over 100 stores across Canada in Ontario and Alberta. Coffee Time serves coffee along with other specialty drinks, baked go ...

. He was also the president of Chairman's Brands the

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

241 Pizza 241 Pizza is a Canadian franchise chain of quick-serve pizza restaurants headquartered in the Toronto district of Scarborough, Ontario. 241 Pizza has 62 locations across Ontario, predominantly in Southern Ontario, and has expanded throughout Cana ...

, Coffee Time, Eggsmart, New Orleans Pizza, and the Friendly Greek. Michalopoulos immigrated to Canada from Greece, and originally found employment as a

real-estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

before he started

a chain of coffee shops. In 1982, along with business partner Young Chang he purchased a

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

named Bentley's Fine Donuts in

Bolton, Ontario Bolton (2021 population 26,795) is an unincorporated village that is the most populous community in the town of Caledon, Ontario. It is located beside the Humber River in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto. In r ...

, and renamed the company to Coffee Time. He eventually franchised the company at one point operated over 300 stores in Canada and had franchises abroad in Greece, Qatar, and Afghanistan. On the political field he supported

Tom Jakobek Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

during the

2003 Toronto municipal election The 2003 Toronto municipal election was held on 10 November 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees. David Miller was elected mayor (Results of 2003 Toronto election). M ...

. He was also involved in developing soccer in Canada by founding and operating a club by the name of

Toronto Olympians Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

which played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1998. He sold the Olympians to David Gee, but still sponsored the league and team when it relocated to

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. He died on April 21, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michalopoulos, Tom 1950 births 2021 deaths Businesspeople in coffee Canadian soccer chairmen and investors Naturalized citizens of Canada Greek emigrants to Canada Fast-food chain founders