Stevens, who was friends with the well-heeled and powerful, died this week after his health took a downturn in recent years following a stroke or two.
Stevens long fashioned himself a jet-setting, world-traveling ladies-man whose girlfriends included Ivana Trump and whose houseguests included Hillary Clinton.Clinton stayed at his place on Redpath Crescent upon a visit to Montreal in the early 1990s, sharing a bed with another woman she came up with.
Stevens was close friends with Pierre Trudeau and knew the family well-enough to see the kids grow up.
He often expressed regret that his heavy socializing schedule, which included many skiing trips to Switzerland, distracted him from having a family of his own and he rued not having his own kids.
He remained a lifelong bachelor to the end, in later years sharing his home on Redpath Crescent with a servant or two and a small dog that he doted on.
Stevens at one point had 1,000 employees at his many restaurants, the first of which was the Rieno milk bar on Sherbrooke Street in the east end, which he allowed employees to name.
His best-known restaurant was The Tramway near Peel and St. Catherine, indeed he owned the building and was often seen there.His other properties included a strip mall in St. Laurent and a motel which he built and opened in time for Expo '67, which has since been repurposed into a home for misfits at 6177 St. James.
Some noted that Stevens wasn't too strict with employees, some of whom ended up taking liberties with his generosity.
Stevens portrayed himself as coming from a wealthy family of Greek immigrants who arrived in Montreal in the 1890s. It is believed that he made his own fortune by buying and selling Greek ships after World War II.Stevens was thoughtful about the life he lived. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd just work a regular nine-to-five," Stevens said a few years ago. "All those years getting calls at two in the morning, it took a toll. I could never relax."
Stevens sold his properties except his home a few years ago and vowed to donate his estate to good causes such as local hospitals.
