Propelled by the broader transformation of Exarchia, the historic venue Mouria is shutting down after serving the local community for more than a century. The venue's lease expired last summer, and the property owners made the choice not to renew the tenancy. Proprietor Christos Vanas had operated the mosaic-floored institution for the past 44 years while firmly resisting modernization and high prices. Even an online petition with 7,500 signatures could not convince the Greek culture ministry to intervene and preserve the space.
Key points
The property owners opted not to renew the lease following its formal expiration last sum…: The property owners opted not to renew the lease following its formal expiration last summer.
The establishment served as a community anchor by keeping menu prices low and intentional…: The establishment served as a community anchor by keeping menu prices low and intentionally resisting modern commercial trends.
The district's countercultural character is eroding as residential spaces shift toward sh…: The district's countercultural character is eroding as residential spaces shift toward short-term rentals and guided tour stops.
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It has been the hangout of writers, artists, poets and politicians, doctors and lawyers, radicals and revolutionaries for as long as anyone can remember. And for 44 years, Christos Vanas, the proprietor of Mouria, has let them all in.
Every day at 7am, the taciturn former waiter has been the first man to step inside the historic cafe in Exarchia, the heart of leftwing Athens. It is a ritual he has kept punctiliously, opening up the famous gathering place before he himself has had his first coffee.
“Only Saturdays are different,” says his daughter Areti, drawing on a Karelia, the aromatic Greek cigarette that, like Mouria, has been around for more than a century. “By 5am, he is here serving tsipouro and other [alcoholic] spirits to warm up the stallholders of the street market outside.”
But this weekend will be Vanas’s last. After a send-off expected to last into the small hours, the cafe’s large, iron-framed doors will shut forever on Sunday when patrons walk out of the mosaic-floored institution. It will be the closing act in a drama that…
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