Nicholas G. Stamas, a retired restaurateur and restaurant equipment supplier, died Tuesday of cancer at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Towson resident was 82.

Born in McKeesport, Pa., Mr. Stamas moved with his family to Baltimore in 1939. A day after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and was sent to aviation school in Hondo, Texas, where he graduated first in his class. He remained at the school as an aviation instructor.

"He always had a dream to fly, and I suppose that this was the time he could do that and help his country," said Stephanie Vakoutis of Baltimore, one of Mr. Stamas' three daughters. "After the war, he came out the Air Force and he hadn't flown since. I'm not sure why. We pressed him on that, and he said he just didn't have the desire to fly anymore after the war."

Mr. Stamas returned to Baltimore and went into business with his brother, Steve Stamas. In 1946, they opened Stamas Equipment and Supply Co. and soon thereafter, The Magic Kitchen restaurant, both in Fells Point.

"His businesses were very important to him," Mrs. Vakoutis said. "Even after his retirement, he did a lot of consulting. He designed cafeterias and kitchens for restaurants. It was all commercial work."

The supply company closed in 1980, and the brothers had sold the restaurant years before that. Mr. Stamas was retired but continued to work occasionally as a restaurant kitchen and cafeteria design consultant until 2000, Mrs. Vakoutis said.

Mr. Stamas enjoyed golfing, tennis, reading and working crossword puzzles.

Funeral services were held Friday at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Baltimore.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife of 54 years, the former Alexandra Stamatakos; daughters Constance Bunja of Towson and Nicolette Ballas of Westminster; a sister, Stella Lintzeris of Ocean City; and five grandchildren.