Michael Harry Kostinsky of Ellicott City, a small-business advocate in Annapolis and Washington, died Thursday, after suffering an apparent heart attack at his Arbutus restaurant. He was 56.
Mr. Kostinsky transformed his father's pizza and sub shop, Sorrento of Arbutus, into a full-service restaurant and catering business; it has become a community fixture that employs more than 25 people.
"I grew up with Sorrento," said former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who said he has eaten hundreds of meals there and liked the thin-crust pizza with extra sauce and mushrooms. "I took my teenage dates there. ... It was a hangout for decades, and this is obviously a tragedy for my hometown."
Tyler Hafen, a Sorrento employee for more than 20 years, called Mr. Kostinsky "a boss and a half."
"There will never be another like him," Mr. Hafen said.
Mr. Kostinsky was raised in Edmondson Heights and graduated from Woodlawn High School in 1971. He attended Catonsville Community College and then transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University, where he graduated with a degree in recreational therapy in 1976.
Upon his return to Baltimore, Mr. Kostinsky decided to join the family business, founded in 1965. "So his father handed him a broom and said, 'OK, get to work,'" said Mr. Kostinsky's widow, the former Ella Granger.
Eventually, Mr. Kostinsky worked his way up to manager and then inherited the business from his father, Leon Kostinsky, who died about a decade ago. Over the years, Mr. Kostinsky oversaw the restaurant's expansion and the establishment of a catering operation that featured "Feast Beast" food trucks at construction sites and school campuses.
In 1984, he met his future wife on a blind date at the National Zoo in Washington. She recalled being impressed that he had his corduroy pants professionally cleaned and pressed - and that he was an excellent listener. They were married three years later.
In addition to working seven days a week at Sorrento until his death, Mr. Kostinsky devoted many hours to community advocacy, as a president of the Arbutus Business and Professional Association and, most recently, leadership council chairman of the Maryland chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). He focused on ways to make health insurance benefits more affordable for small businesses.
