7 May 2025

Our appointment with Mr Giannis was at 7 pm on a Thursday in April. Since his brother died, the bar only opens in the afternoons, staying open until late at night. In the past, Tzimis ran the morning shift and Mr Giannis, the afternoon shift.

The first customers, mostly regulars, have already taken their places at the bar, or at tables outside. Kostas, Mr Giannis’s son, who works at the bar, tells us that his father will be here shortly.

Mr. Giannis arrives and greets us. Before we sit down at the end of the bar to talk, he apologizes, as he has to sort out some work issues. He sits next to us and orders a single espresso while his gaze controls every movement that takes place at the bar, the movements of the waiters and customers alike. His all-seeing eye catches everything and, at the same time, ensures their proper functioning.

“When a customer comes in, I want to see him or her; I take a picture of him of her,” he says.

Mr Giannis and his brother, Tzimis, left Lamia for Athens in the 1960s. There were no jobs back then in the countryside. They studied tourism and worked in hotels. In 1972, they made the decision to open Galaxy.

Stadiou street was nicknamed “the showcase” of the Greek capital. Later, during the financial Greek crisis of 2009, it would change. Shops closed and many of its most iconic buildings remain closed to this day.

Galaxy would withstand time and its difficulties. By the mid-1970s it had already become a meeting place.

“From the beginning, it was a hangout for writers and journalists. We had a relationship with the people who came. Little by little, one brought the other and they got to know us and little by little it became a hangout,” Mr Giannis recalls.

Many of those old patrons have passed away but Galaxy continues. Today’s customers range from 20-somethings to 70-somethings. Some come for the hype, because they read about it in a magazine or newspaper, and others because they just love the place. Galaxy is love, it’s home.

“These jobs are a bit personal,” Mr Giannis stresses. “You don’t just open a bar and work there, you give of yourself. Little by little, you become friends with the customer. Then there’s the service and the good drinks,” he notes.

“Our customers don’t come as strangers, they come as friends now. You try to find them and seat them, because sometimes the place fills up and, as you know well, it takes a little extra effort, and they understand and know this,” he adds.