Demos died September 7, 2026, at his home, according to an obituary published in The San Diego Union-Tribune on October 25. A private service was held September 17. His death marks another significant chapter in the history of the Red Fox, the old-school steakhouse and piano bar that became a San Diego fixture through generations of family ownership, live music, stiff cocktails and a dining room that seemed frozen in another century.
The Demos family's connection to the restaurant began in 1966, when John took ownership of the Red Fox Room, which had opened in 1959 beneath the Lafayette Hotel along El Cajon Boulevard. Over the next 59 years, the family maintained its signature atmosphere, complete with dark wood paneling, red leather booths, classic steak dinners and a piano bar where regulars gathered to sing standards late into the evening.
Born in Chicago in 1931 during the Great Depression, Demos entered the restaurant business remarkably young. By age 10, he was working alongside his older brother Spiro at their father's cafeteria. The family relocated to San Diego in the 1940s, and John graduated from San Diego High School in 1948 before serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Korean War aboard the cutter Klamath.
Restaurant work was already a family tradition. Historical reporting published in San Diego Uptown News in 2019 documented how John's father, William Demos, had immigrated from Greece and operated restaurants before bringing the family west. John and Spiro followed in his footsteps, eventually purchasing Demos Coffee Shop in downtown San Diego in 1960.
It was at that restaurant that John met his wife, Rosemarie, with whom he raised three sons, William, James and Andrew.
Six years later, John assumed ownership of the Red Fox Room, beginning a family association that would endure through San Diego's changing restaurant landscape, the redevelopment of El Cajon Boulevard and the eventual transformation of the Lafayette Hotel.
The Red Fox's extraordinary interior helped distinguish it from virtually every other restaurant in the city. Its carved wooden bar, Tudor-style paneling, stained glass and ornate fireplace originated from a centuries-old English inn in Surrey. The historic fixtures were transported to California in 1926 for a Santa Monica beachfront mansion associated with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and actress Marion Davies.
The interior eventually made its way to San Diego, where it became the centerpiece of the Red Fox Room when the restaurant opened in October 1959. Under the Demos family, that unusual collection of architectural history became the backdrop for countless anniversaries, birthdays, first dates, family dinners and evenings around the piano.
Even after John stepped away from daily management, the restaurant remained a family operation. His son Jim Demos assumed responsibility for running the business, while Jim's wife Nanci helped with bookkeeping and younger family members occasionally worked in the dining room.
Although John Demos remained closely associated with the Red Fox throughout his life, his son Jim had assumed responsibility for the restaurant's daily operations by approximately 2005. In a 2018 interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune, Jim was identified as the restaurant's co-owner and general manager, having overseen the business for 13 years. Together, father and son helped preserve the Red Fox's old-school atmosphere through decades of changes along El Cajon Boulevard, including the restaurant's eventual relocation across the street from the Lafayette Hotel.
A 2019 historical account described John, then in his late 80s, as still visiting the restaurant regularly, demonstrating how closely he remained connected to the business long after handing over its day-to-day responsibilities.
The restaurant's later years, however, were marked by increasingly difficult transitions.
In 2018, the family announced plans to leave the Lafayette Hotel after learning its lease would not be renewed. Jim Demos told the San Diego Reader that the family had purchased a property across El Cajon Boulevard and intended to reconstruct the historic restaurant as faithfully as possible.
The original location eventually closed in 2020 amid the pandemic and relocation process. After a lengthy construction period, the Red Fox reopened in March 2022 inside a newly built restaurant at 2200 El Cajon Boulevard, carrying over its signature woodwork, stained glass, bar and distinctive supper-club atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the former Red Fox space inside the Lafayette was transformed into Quixote, a lavishly designed restaurant and bar operated by San Diego hospitality group Consortium Holdings following the hotel's extensive renovation.
The Red Fox's revival ultimately proved short-lived.
On May 12, 2025, the restaurant abruptly closed, with employees reporting that they had been dismissed without advance notice. The business initially suggested it hoped to reopen later that year, but the promised return never materialized.
In February 2026, SanDiegoVille reported that the restaurant, its historic assets, brand, liquor license and real estate had been offered for sale through Smith Allen Group for $3,411,295.
The offering included the approximately 3,000-square-foot building completed around 2022, a commercial kitchen, the Red Fox name and intellectual property subject to seller terms, selected historic fixtures and a Type 47 liquor license. Marketing materials reported approximately $2.12 million in gross sales during 2024, the restaurant's last full year of operation.
Now, there has been another development.
The Smith Allen Group listing has been changed to "Off Market," and the brokerage's website states that the listing is no longer available. Although the original asking price and property details remain visible, the change raises questions about whether the business and property have been sold, withdrawn from the market or placed under another arrangement.
SanDiegoVille has not confirmed a completed sale, identified a new owner or established whether any agreement has been reached to revive the restaurant. The listing's removal alone does not establish that ownership has changed.
The uncertainty surrounding the Red Fox's future makes Demos' passing especially poignant. The restaurant he helped sustain for nearly six decades remains closed, and it is unclear whether its historic interior, piano bar and familiar name will ever welcome another generation of San Diegans.
Outside the restaurant business, Demos enjoyed handball, golf, poker, Scrabble and traveling the world. His family remembered him as a proud Greek American who enjoyed learning about other cultures, telling stories and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Mae, his brother Spiro and his son Billy. He is survived by his wife Rosemarie, sons James and Andrew, four grandchildren, four nieces and extended family.
According to his obituary, Demos approached life with optimism and few regrets, taking particular pride in his role as a father, grandfather and father-in-law.
His family has requested that those wishing to honor his memory make donations to The Arc of San Diego, an organization supporting people with disabilities.
For generations of San Diegans, the Red Fox was more than a steakhouse. It was a place where time seemed to slow down, where the piano played into the night and where the Demos family maintained a tradition that outlasted countless restaurant trends.
Whether the Red Fox eventually returns under new ownership remains an open question. But the man whose family kept its doors open for nearly 60 years leaves behind an unmistakable place in San Diego's restaurant history.
The restaurant's later years, however, were marked by increasingly difficult transitions.
In 2018, the family announced plans to leave the Lafayette Hotel after learning its lease would not be renewed. Jim Demos told the San Diego Reader that the family had purchased a property across El Cajon Boulevard and intended to reconstruct the historic restaurant as faithfully as possible.
The original location eventually closed in 2020 amid the pandemic and relocation process. After a lengthy construction period, the Red Fox reopened in March 2022 inside a newly built restaurant at 2200 El Cajon Boulevard, carrying over its signature woodwork, stained glass, bar and distinctive supper-club atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the former Red Fox space inside the Lafayette was transformed into Quixote, a lavishly designed restaurant and bar operated by San Diego hospitality group Consortium Holdings following the hotel's extensive renovation.
The Red Fox's revival ultimately proved short-lived.
On May 12, 2025, the restaurant abruptly closed, with employees reporting that they had been dismissed without advance notice. The business initially suggested it hoped to reopen later that year, but the promised return never materialized.
In February 2026, SanDiegoVille reported that the restaurant, its historic assets, brand, liquor license and real estate had been offered for sale through Smith Allen Group for $3,411,295.
The offering included the approximately 3,000-square-foot building completed around 2022, a commercial kitchen, the Red Fox name and intellectual property subject to seller terms, selected historic fixtures and a Type 47 liquor license. Marketing materials reported approximately $2.12 million in gross sales during 2024, the restaurant's last full year of operation.
Now, there has been another development.
The Smith Allen Group listing has been changed to "Off Market," and the brokerage's website states that the listing is no longer available. Although the original asking price and property details remain visible, the change raises questions about whether the business and property have been sold, withdrawn from the market or placed under another arrangement.
SanDiegoVille has not confirmed a completed sale, identified a new owner or established whether any agreement has been reached to revive the restaurant. The listing's removal alone does not establish that ownership has changed.
The uncertainty surrounding the Red Fox's future makes Demos' passing especially poignant. The restaurant he helped sustain for nearly six decades remains closed, and it is unclear whether its historic interior, piano bar and familiar name will ever welcome another generation of San Diegans.
Outside the restaurant business, Demos enjoyed handball, golf, poker, Scrabble and traveling the world. His family remembered him as a proud Greek American who enjoyed learning about other cultures, telling stories and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Mae, his brother Spiro and his son Billy. He is survived by his wife Rosemarie, sons James and Andrew, four grandchildren, four nieces and extended family.
According to his obituary, Demos approached life with optimism and few regrets, taking particular pride in his role as a father, grandfather and father-in-law.
His family has requested that those wishing to honor his memory make donations to The Arc of San Diego, an organization supporting people with disabilities.
For generations of San Diegans, the Red Fox was more than a steakhouse. It was a place where time seemed to slow down, where the piano played into the night and where the Demos family maintained a tradition that outlasted countless restaurant trends.
Whether the Red Fox eventually returns under new ownership remains an open question. But the man whose family kept its doors open for nearly 60 years leaves behind an unmistakable place in San Diego's restaurant history.
Originally published November 2, 2026.
