MIDTOWN — A long-time city chef was found dead in his apartment at the luxury Beatrice Apartments about noon Monday, NYPD officials said.
John Anthony Kekalos, 51, was found dead on the floor of his apartment at 105. W. 29th St., police said.
Kekalos worked at Dorrian's Red Hand on East 84th Street and Second Avenue during the 1990s and was a part-owner of its Jersey City branch.
"He was a genuinely nice person," said Chris Tripoulas, 58, a bartender at the Upper East Side location. "He was very professional. I never heard one bad thing said about him."
"He was a very, very good chef," Tripoulas added. "He really knew the business."
The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
It wasn't immediately clear if any criminality was involved, the NYPD said.
