‘HE WAS LARGER THAN LIFE’
Brooklyn mourns death of Grand Prospect Hall owner Michael Halkias
BY ROSE ADAMS
The owner of the iconic
Park Slope events venue
Grand Prospect Hall, Michael
Halkias, died from COVID-19
on May 6. He was 82.
Halkias’ death sent shockwaves
throughout Brooklyn,
where community leaders and
friends remember him as a passionate,
generous fi gure.
“He was a Brooklyn character
for sure in the best sort of
way,” said Randy Peers, president
and CEO of the Brooklyn
Chamber of Commerce. “He
was larger than life.”
Halkias and his wife Alice
bought Grand Prospect Hall
in 1984 and turned the extravagant
Prospect Avenue building
into an opulent catering hall.
The space became a New York
icon because of its long-running,
popular commercials,
where Alice Halkias declares
in a Greek accent, “We make
your dreams come true!”
Saturday Night Live spoofed
the famous commercial in February
of 2019, and the pair appeared
COURIER L 22 IFE, MAY 15-21, 2020
on Jimmy Kimmel Live
in October to remake the ad
with Mets player Pete Alonso.
Grand Prospect Hall, a Victorian
banquet hall built in
1892, attracted big names such
as dancer Fred Astaire and mafi
oso Al Capone during its heyday
in the early 20th century
— and boasted some of the borough’s
oldest treasures, such
as Brooklyn’s fi rst reported elevator,
which functions to this
day. But by the 1980s, the landmarked
building had fallen
into disrepair: its walls had
been painted black, molding
had been stripped off the walls,
and the chandeliers were gone,
Halkias told Brooklyn Paper
in 2004.
The couple spent 20 years
restoring the sprawling, 12-
room banquet hall to its former
grandeur, Halkias said. Now,
the venue has been featured in
movies including Wes Anderson’s
“The Royal Tenenbaums”
and Francis Ford Coppola’s
“Cotton Club,” and continues
to host countless weddings,
music festivals, and events.
They also maintained deep
roots within the community,
hosting dozens of community
events each year, according to
local business leaders.
“He was always a pleasure
to work with. He made our
dreams come true,” said Mark
Caserta, the head of the Park
Slope Business Improvement
District, which has hosted its
annual food event “Taste of
Fifth” at the venue for seven
years.
Peers, the former community
board chair in Sunset
Park, said the the couple
wouldn’t charge the community
group for hosting meetings
or public hearings at the
space.
“He would always open the
doors to Grand Prospect Hall
to us for whatever we needed.
He never charged us for those
types of events,” he said, noting
also that Alice and Michael
made a great team. “She kept
him very balanced. He’d want
to give everything away and
she would say, ‘Wait a minute!'”
Brooklynites will remember
Halkias for his sense of
humor and generosity, Peers
added.
“He had a heart of gold,” he
said.
Michael Halkias, the owner of Grand Prospect Hall, died on May 6 from
coronavirus. File photo