The “Mouria” coffeehouse in Exarchia, one of the oldest coffeehouses in Athens, will continue operating. Located on the corner of Charilaou Trikoupi and Kallidromiou streets, the coffeehouse has been in continuous operation since 1915 — for 111 years.
On June 19, however, the seventh owner of Mouria, Christos Vanas, announced that the owner of the property had requested the removal of the business, with the aim of radically changing the use of the space.
Organizations such as the Athens Association of Restaurant and Catering Professionals, as well as citizens — with more than 6,000 signatures — reacted, calling on the competent department of the Ministry of Culture to designate the coffeehouse as a modern monument of contemporary cultural heritage, in order to legally safeguard the preservation of its use. Eventually, last week, the property owner withdrew his decision to change the use of the space.
Eight coffeehouses more than 100 years old were recognized in 2022 as Historic Cafés and included in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
So far, eight coffeehouses that have been operating for more than 100 years across Greece have been recorded by the Ministry of Culture as “Historic Cafés” and were registered as such in Greece’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022.
These are “Kipos Café” in Chania, “Mevlana Café” in Rhodes, “Hermis Café” and “Panellinion” in Mytilene, the “Komotini Club” in Komotini, “Megalo Kafeneio” in Tripoli, “Oraia Ellas Café” in Athens and “Megalo Kafeneio” in Amfissa.
Sources: To Vima [1], [2], Athinea, Athinorama
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