George was born on April 25, 1927, in Athens, Greece. He died on January 6, 2026, at the age of 98 in Long Beach, California.

He was the third child of Nikolaos Nikas and Ekaterine Adritsianopoulos. He grew up in a tight-knit family of four brothers and one sister. His grandmother, Efthalia, also lived with the family, and they all worked together to survive the difficult war years. At the close of WWII, at the age of 17, he joined the Greek Army and rose through the ranks to become an officer during the Greek Civil War.

He and his brothers moved to America in the early 1950s, settling in New York. After the death of his father, his mother and grandmother joined the brothers there. In 1957, he moved to Long Beach, California, soon followed by the rest of the family.

In the early 1960s, he started several coffee houses with his brothers Ted and Jerry. These included The Rouge et Noir in Seal Beach and The Prison of Socrates in Balboa. Both coffee houses were an important part of the Orange County folk music scene. In 1966, George bought The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach.

He became an influential figure in the California music scene, often booking groups in coordination with Doug Weston of the Troubadour in Los Angeles, as well as Bill Graham of the Fillmore in San Francisco. The Golden Bear was a key performance location in Orange County for many popular groups and performers, including Chris Hillman of the Byrds, Jackson Browne, Hoyt Axton, Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Martin, Arlo Guthrie, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and many others. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band also performed there and even presented George with the Gold Record for their album, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."

George remained healthy and active well into his 90s, keeping busy selling goods on eBay and gardening. He never married, but was a beloved uncle to many nieces and nephews, and will be greatly missed. He is survived by nieces Cynthia Odier, Marina Kitrilakis, Ekaterine Terlinden, and Michele Nikas-Beaman, nephews Nick Nikas, Alex Nikas, and Richard John Nikas, and by his sister-in-law Dorothy Nikas.

George is laid to rest at Westminster Memorial Park in Westminster, California.

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