Nicholas Christu was born Nicholas Castellorizo on November 6, 1891, on the Island of Megisti, Greece. He
immigrated to the United States on October 30, 1910, and landed at Ellis Island. He lived with the son of a
neighbor in Ashland, Ohio, before moving to Roosevelt City, Ohio, where he worked in a candy factory. He later
moved to Cardington, Ohio, where he worked at the Candy Kitchen and Ice Cream Parlor. He served in World War I
and was stationed at Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio. He moved to Birmingham in 1924 and worked at a
restaurant on 3rd Avenue and 16th Street North before eventually buying his own restaurant on 4th Avenue and
24th Street North.
In his narrative, Nicholas Christu discusses coming to America and reflects on Greek family life and church in
Birmingham.
Recorded in Birmingham on February 3, 1977, as part of the University of Alabama in Birmingham Oral History
Research Project.
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