Just off 69th Street on Market Street in Upper Darby stood the Arrow Restaurant, a place that, for decades, felt like the heartbeat of the area’s Greek community.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, the Arrow was more than a restaurant. It was where people came to eat well, to be seen, and to find out what was happening. If you wanted news, gossip, or a sense of the community’s pulse, you asked John Solomon.
Greek Cypriot John Solomon was one of two partners who owned and ran the Arrow at the height of Upper Darby’s Greek-American life. Known for his warmth and encyclopedic knowledge of people and events, Solomon was the kind of owner who made every customer feel like a regular. You never left the Arrow hungry, and you rarely left without a story.
Solomon was born and raised near Famagusta, Cyprus, where he attended an Evangelical Mission school. Still a teenager, he arrived in the United States by ship on February 5, 1950. He settled in Philadelphia, living with his uncle and working in various restaurants while building a new life.
He attended Dobbins High School, where he captained the soccer team, made up largely of refugee players. In one match, a referee introduced him to the opposing captain, another future leader of Philadelphia’s Greek community, John Countoudis of Central High. It was an early glimpse of the close-knit paths many would later share.
In 1959, Solomon entered military service at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He spent six years in the Army Reserves and graduated from cooking school in 1964 with the rank of sergeant. After his release, he returned to restaurant work, waiting for the right moment.
That moment came in 1966. The Greek community in Upper Darby and around 69th Street was flourishing, and Solomon saw opportunity. In May of that year, he and a friend opened the Arrow Restaurant. The name came from a half-lit neon sign left behind by the previous business, its flickering arrow pointing the way.
The Arrow thrived into the early 1980s, becoming a staple of the neighborhood. In 1983, an accidental fire destroyed the restaurant. It was rebuilt and reopened the following year, but the times were changing. As Greek families moved further into Delaware County and beyond, Upper Darby’s Greek core slowly dissolved.
In 2001, Solomon sold the Arrow. The building was later converted into a series of small shops. By then, Upper Darby was a different place, and its once-vibrant Greek town had largely faded into memory.
Today, John Solomon lives in San Francisco with his family, but he still travels back east to work at Greek festivals throughout the year. His connection to food and to the Philadelphia Greek community remains strong, rooted in a lifetime of shared tables, conversations, and care.
For many, the Arrow was not just a restaurant. It was a gathering place, a newsroom, and a second home. And at its center was John Solomon, quietly shaping a community one meal at a time.