In the 1960s and '70s, Grecian Village was the hot new place to be, a lively Greek restaurant where customers scarfed down calamari and other dishes still exotic to Atlantans back then.

Crowds would line up every Friday and Saturday night to grab a table at the restaurant near Oglethorpe University, then dance in the parking lot while they waited.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Ted Sarantis played the bouzouki at Grecian Village in Atlanta during the 1960s and '70s, then at other Greek restaurants, festivals and parties throughout the Southeast.

At the center of the scene was good-looking bouzouki player Ted Sarantis, who ran Grecian Village with his then-wife and kept customers jumping with his live band.

"Some people have stage presence, and some don't," said former wife Eva Sarantis of Fayetteville, who served as the Grecian Village's cook. "But Ted had it. He was just a natural-born performer."

Of course, she said, "In those days, musicians were chick magnets. I know that's what attracted me to him."

But his appeal ran deeper than that. A professional musician for most of his life, Mr. Sarantis crafted lilting melodies and sensitive lyrics, despite a lack of formal training.

"He couldn't read a note of music," she said, "but he wrote some of the most beautiful music you'd ever want to hear."

Theodoros Sarantis, 67, died of complications from congestive heart failure Sunday at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. The funeral is 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation. Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Sarantis was born in Chios, Greece, and moved to New York City when he was 18. He spent a few years in the U.S. Army and settled in the 1960s in Atlanta, where he was drawn to the city's tight-knit Greek community.

Much of that socializing took place at Grecian Village, where Mr. Sarantis evoked memories of his homeland with his emotion-laden compositions.

"He didn't write shallow lyrics," said his son, Stephen Sarantis, of Fayetteville. "His music and his lyrics were very delicate and very deep and very creative."

After Grecian Village closed in the late 1970s, Mr. Sarantis segued into a regular gig at Atlanta's annual Greek Festival.

He and his band mates played Greek restaurants in Augusta, Birmingham, Jacksonville and other Southeastern cities.

"He had such a strong passion for music," his son said. "He knew that's what he wanted to do, and he built his life around it.

"And it was such a tight-knit group that if it was slow in Atlanta, his musician friends knew people in other towns where he could play and continue doing what he loved."

In 1985, Mr. Sarantis was hired to manage the now-defunct Happy Dolphin Supper Club on Ponce de Leon Avenue, which was owned by family members.

While diners feasted on moussaka, pastisio and baby octopus marinated in vinegar, he plunked away on his bouzouki and clowned with the audience. He played at family parties. He played at holiday gatherings. He played music at every opportunity.

"Having that one thing he loved really defined his life," his son said. "So many people just go to work and don't have a strong passion that guides their life and are just 9-to-5-ers, and he was so far from that."

"Ted was never one to be pigeonholed into something," his former wife said. "He was a character, and he was always himself."

Survivors other than his son include two daughters, Maria Gaddy of Monroe, and Angelina Meadows of Marietta; two sisters, Popi Dimoglou of Decatur, and Despina Sarantis of Athens, Greece; a brother, Dimitrios Sarantis, of Decatur; and one granddaughter.