A vase with red carnations and a photo of Andy Damiani graced the table on Monday at Plaid Turnip where the former mayor met others for breakfast almost daily.

Damiani died Saturday afternoon at the age of 95, only a few short hours after enjoying his last breakfast at the North Main Street restaurant, where his window seat — which remained empty in his honor on Monday — offered a view of the square that formed the center of his beloved downtown.

But the flowers weren’t the only evidence of Damiani’s constant downtown presence on Monday. His spirit lived on as the dozen or so present at the breakfast passed the time by sharing their favorite memories and swapping “Andy stories.”

“It’s definitely going to be different without him,” said Darlene Keyt, who clearly meant both the breakfast group and downtown in general.

Several recalled that Damiani was a demanding customer. Plaid Turnip server Grace Ann Lewis knew to set down a plate of fruit and applesauce as soon as he arrived. His coffee also had to be scalding hot, she said. She would microwave it for a minute and a half, and he’d take two sips before it needed to be heated again — summoning her with a loud “yoo-hoo.”

“He was a character,” she said. “He was such a strong-willed man.”

As Keyt put it, “Can’t you be demanding at 95 and get away with it?”

As Damiani’s health deteriorated, however, the group banded together to ensure some of his demands weren’t met.

“If he tried to order bacon, Grace Ann wouldn’t give it to him,” Leah Powell said. The group also took the saltshaker away from his spot.

Most memories shared about Damiani, however, were about his love for downtown that endured to the end.

“If a new business opened up downtown, he always wanted to go and meet the owners,” said Ricky Barnes, who worked for Damiani as a driver the last 18 months or so.

The two had a routine that often involved Barnes driving Damiani around downtown so he could see what was going on.

“I’d be going 10 or 15 miles an hour and he’d tell me I was going too fast,” Barnes said.

“He had to take it all in,” Charles Parr Sr. noted. “Like the farmers surveying their crops.”

He also loved to eat out, and not just at breakfast.

“Anytime a new restaurant would open up, he wanted to try it, and if he liked it, he kept going back,” Damiani’s friend and fellow businessman Ralph Nahra said. “He was a cherished friend. He was a shrewd businessman and a good investor. He knew the pulse of the city.”

Other friends remarked on Damiani’s contributions to downtown throughout the day.

“He was as dedicated as anybody I ever knew to what his project was, which was, of course, the downtown,” said retired fellow downtown businessman G.S. Hobbs. “He amazed me, being from Richmond, that he took to downtown Suffolk the way he did. His influence made a lot of good things happen.”

Dede Smith, who helped manage Damiani’s real estate, said she learned a lot about Suffolk from Damiani after she began working for him a few years ago.

“He knew everyone and everything,” Smith said. “You could not mention a person or a place that he didn’t have a story for.”

Smith got a crash course in Suffolk when she helped Damiani organize his sizable archives, which included newspaper clippings, event programs and all manner of other printed items.

She also admired him at community events, where he still seemed like the leader, even after all these years out of elected office.

“I just knew if I got him there, the guy was good to go,” she said. “I brought him in, and everybody would just surround him, and I’d say, ‘Let me know when you’re ready to go home.’ It amazes me. He was sharp as a tack.”

Damiani’s visitation is set for 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary of the Presentation Catholic Church, 202 S. Broad St., Suffolk, followed by a funeral Mass. A reception will follow at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, 110 W. Finney Ave. Burial will be private.