James Parash, Fixture At Sip'n Soda For Decades, Remembered

When Sip’n Soda opened in 1958, Butch Armusewicz and his high school buddies were excited to go. There was nothing like it in Southampton, and they had visions of becoming the well-known regulars, something akin to what would be portrayed years later in the popular sitcom “Happy Days,” which premiered in the 1970s and glorified the ’50s.

Jimmy Parash dispelled that notion for them pretty quickly.

“He wasn’t too keen on us,” Mr. Armusewicz said with a laugh, recounting his earliest interactions with the luncheonette co-owner.

Mr. Parash would direct Mr. Armusewicz and his friends to the first or second booth to the right, next to his post behind the counter, where he could keep an eye on them. Like typical teenage patrons, they made a lot of noise, and didn’t spend much money. When they were done eating, Mr. Parash did not mince words, Mr. Armusewicz said.

“He’d give us the bill and say, ‘You leaving now?’”

Turns out, Mr. Armusewicz never really left.

He is one of many customers who made Sip’n Soda a regular haunt for decades, and he didn’t keep coming back just for the food. In more recent years, he’d be there nearly every morning, sipping his coffee and talking politics with the man who used to shoo him out as a teen.

Mr. Parash is described by his daughter, Nicole Parash Guillo, as “a man of few words,” but someone who, when he loved you, “he loved hard.” The soda shop that he opened with his father, William Parash, more than 60 years ago — which became an institution in the village — was his pride and joy, and any gruffness he displayed with customers like Mr. Armusewicz and his friends during the early days was likely a function of his desire to ensure it would be a success.

He did that with an unwavering work ethic, taking time off only to play a round at the Southampton Golf Club on Wednesdays with friends. When other luncheonettes in the village went under or went away over the years, Sip’n Soda had staying power, thanks to the tireless dedication of Mr. Parash and his brother, Paul, who came to work with him shortly after the restaurant opened. Jimmy Parash remained when Paul Parash died in 2012, when Paul Parash’s son, Mark Parash, officially became his business partner. On August 31, an era ended when Jimmy Parash died. He was 85.

James William Parash was born on February 6, 1936, not in a hospital but in the apartment above the Candy Kitchen in Bridgehampton, where he lived with his parents, Greek immigrants William and Nicoleta Parash. (His older brother, Paul Parash, had entered the world the same way a few years earlier). Mr. Parash’s parents owned and operated the Candy Kitchen from 1925 to 1946, and after a brief four-year move to Jacksonville, Florida, they returned to the area, opening Paradise Sweet Shop on Love Lane in Mattituck.

Mr. Parash graduated from Mattituck High School in 1954, and then spent two years in the U.S. Army before coming back home. When Mr. Parash was a senior in high school, his father had given him a choice: go to college after the service, or start a new luncheonette business with him. Mr. Parash chose the latter, of course, and they purchased land on Hampton Road and built the building that still houses Sip’n Soda today, officially opening for business in May 1958. Paul Parash joined Jimmy Parash as business partner in 1960, and they worked together for more than 50 years.

Commitment, consistency, and longevity were themes in Mr. Parash’s work and personal life. Shortly after opening Sip’n Soda, he met the love of his life, Beatrice Pappas, at a Greek dance at the Canoe Place Inn in Hampton Bays. They had three children together and would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in October.

Mark Parash started working with his uncle and father in 1992 and became partners with his uncle after his father died. He describes Jimmy Parash as “the everything man.”

“He did it all,” Mr. Parash said. “[Paul and Jimmy] were here seven days a week, and they were a dynamic duo. They were very different, but the commitment they gave to the business and to the village was priceless.”

Family members and customers describe Mr. Parash as quieter and more introverted than his older brother, but that did not mean he was lacking in personality. Mark Parash also described him as quick witted and fun.

“He was like a kid in a lot of ways, which made him adored by the young people who worked here over the years,” he said.

Playfulness was a key aspect of Mr. Parash’s persona, according to his daughter Nicole.

“Dad was a jokester,” she said. “He loved to play jokes. He’d hide behind the door in the back of the kitchen and jump out to scare you.”

Aside from his strong work ethic and playful personality, Mr. Parash will also be remembered for his generosity. He showed that quietly at times, but in a multitude of ways, and was equally committed to helping individuals in need and also boosting important causes in the community he loved. Mr. Parash was one of the founding members of the Greek Orthodox Church in Southampton, and also put his financial support behind the building of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at the World Trade Center, not far from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. It is scheduled to open on September 10 of this year.

Smaller gestures were equally important to Mr. Parash. Ms. Guillo said that when one of the Sip’n Soda cooks, a man named Jesus, mentioned he was having a hard time getting to work because he didn’t have a car, Mr. Parash simply gave him his own car, and then went out and bought a new one for himself.

As far as his legacy in Southampton Village, Mark Parash said his uncle, and his father, will be remembered for the way they made Sip’n Soda an institution, and the example they set for running a business the right way.

“They had an incredible work ethic, and put so much effort into [Sip’n Soda] and into the community,” he said. “I really respect that and really understand the value of a community-based business.”

Nearly every community member has eaten at Sip’n Soda, and a long list of them have worked there over the years, too. Julianne Harrison worked there for many years, starting when she was just a young teenager having recently moved to the area from Florida. She said she felt a sense of family as an employee, and described Mr. Parash as a good person to work for.

“He was a hard worker, and I can always picture him with a smile on his face,” she said.

As he became older, time spent with family and with his eight grandchildren in particular is what brought Mr. Parash joy, his daughter Nicole said. She started to cry when speaking about what her father would tell his family.

“He always said that he wanted to give his children a better life than he ever had,” she said. “He always used to say to my children, ‘Keep reaching for the stars, but keep your feet on the ground.’”

Mr. Parash is survived by his wife, Bea; and their children, Jamie and husband John Kaiser of Fairfield, Connecticut, Bill and wife Beatrix Parash of Southampton, and Nicole Guillo of Southampton; as well as grandchildren Eleni, Anna and Caliope Kaiser, James and Sebastian Parash, and Sophia, Paul and Ava Guillo.