GORHAM – A week after a fire shut down the Gorham House of Pizza in April, the owner learned he has high-risk prostate cancer. Now, the community has rallied around him.

GORHAM – A week after a fire shut down the Gorham House of Pizza in April, the owner, a legend in town, received more bad news – he has high-risk prostate cancer.

Angelo Sotiropoulos, 63, said he’s been told by a doctor that he has just three more years to live.

“He shook me up,” Sotiropoulos said Tuesday.

Sotiropoulos described the severity of the illness as a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. On May 17, Sotiropoulos will meet with several doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He hasn’t received treatment yet, but will need an operation and treatment soon.

Now, a community fundraiser planned for Sotiropoulos and his employees has a greater urgency.

The cancer news followed a fire April 19 that extensively damaged his historic building and restaurant at 2 State St. Despite the doctor’s report, he’s battling back and plans to reopen his restaurant, possibly within three to four months.

“God is on my side,” Sotiropoulos said. “The community is on my side.”

The University of Southern Maine is hosting a fundraiser, “Operation GHOP,” from 2-10 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, in the Costello Field House on the university’s Gorham campus. The benefit is being organized by businesspeople and residents, and the university is not charging for the use of the field house.

“The entire community has responded with open arms,” Town Councilor Matt Mattingly said Tuesday. “The response makes you proud to live in Gorham.”

Sotiropoulos, who emigrated from Greece to the United States in 1972, is widely known in the town for his generosity, supporting athletics at the university and Gorham schools. He also supports the DARE program in Gorham schools.

Sotiropoulos was honored in 2007 as Gorham Businessperson of the Year by the Gorham Business Exchange.

The fundraiser plans feature live music, food and drink. Sebago Brewing Co. will provide beer and PineCrest Inn will provide wine. A silent auction will have plenty of locally donated gift cards and certificates.

Commemorative T-shirts donated by Gorham Business Exchange and printed by Port City Graphics will be available for purchase. Gorham Middle School students are sponsoring a penny contest and Gorham High School students are selling virtual pizza slices, Mattingly said.

Kids will have a bounce house courtesy of Party Time Rental. Entertainment will include local dance troupes, and Carson Lynch of The Gorham Grind and his trio will play. The Jerks of Grass, a well-known bluegrass band, will also perform.

Nearly 500 people have already indicated on Facebook they’ll attend the fundraiser.

“People have been so responsive,” said Lisa Allen of Party Time Rental in Gorham. “It’s great.”

The fire, which was ruled accidental, started in an apartment on the second floor above the restaurant and spread into the attic. Sotiropoulos has been busy working with insurance agents.

Repairing the fire damage is expected to take months. Sotiropoulos was to meet with town officials Wednesday about a possible new design for the roof that could be flat.

The building will get new siding and a facelift for the restaurant interior, with new floors, ceiling and walls. The building represents his retirement, Sotiropoulos said.

“We’re going to have a brand new building,” he said.

The 135-year-old building is a landmark at the intersection of routes 25 and 114 in Gorham Village. The building has served generations. Many present-day Gorham residents remember the building as once housing Barden’s Drug Co.

George Bangs, who worked in Barden’s in the 1960s, recalled the pharmacy’s luncheonette where village regulars like the crew from the post office, which was then across State Street, would meet for coffee.

Under Sotiropoulos, the Gorham House of Pizza also became a downtown tradition. He took over Gorham House of Pizza in 1980 and bought the building in 1984.

Sotiropoulos remains optimistic about his future.

“I am shooting for 30 more years,” he said.

Angelo Sotiropoulos
A patched-up Gorham House of Pizza as it appears these days following a fire last month. (Staff photo by Robert Lowell)