Our Story

The Holy Church of Agios Spyridon was built towards the end of the 18th century, for the congregation of vacationers during the summer months. In the forecourt above the sea level, there was also a small house to serve the needs of the temple.

 

In this blessed place there was also the first permanent job of the -minor at that time- Nikolakis, where he started as a waiter at the age of 15 years, until he took over the store himself in 1929 and developed it into one of the most historic taverns of Attica.

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Nikolaos Gegos tied his life with this restaurant and with its help of his brother and his wife, took on the duty of serving the small local community all year round with raw materials, telephone and basic necessities, while the tavern became a hangout for afluent ship owners and celebrities in the summer months. He maintained the tradition by keeping the store open every day of the year, with the exception of the 6 months he was called up to serve military duty in 1940, until he returned unrecognized a month after the Greek WWII front collapsed in May '41.

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As a memento of his marriage in 1931, he and his wife, Maria H. Stathis, planted a pine tree in the yard of the shop, which was destined to be connected with war history. This is because in 1941, when its peak was in full development, German soldiers used it as a shooting target with machine gun from NW entrance. The cutting of the top abruptly interrupted the growth of the pine, but not its development.

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Over the 10 years, the shadow of that very pine hosted Prime Ministers such as E. Venizelos (1932), A. Koryzis, I. Metaxas, G. Papandreou, K. Karamanlis, K. Mitsotakis, A. Samaras and others, ship owners (A. Onassis, Goulandris) and so many other famous people such as Seferis, Elytis, Xylouris, M. Theodorakis, etc. In fact, K. Karamanlis, gently hitting N. Gegos on the back, used to say "Gegos, you are the pioneer of Porto Raftis".

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Carrying the heritage of the business and the family, the children, Panagiota and Anastasios N. Gegou, continued to serve the world with respect and with the best raw materials from the fertile lands of Vravrona and the local fishermen.

 

Heading towards the 100-year milestone, this will remain the vision of the third generation. In Agios Spyridon we will strive to preserve our history, the tradition and our character, producing our wine ourselves, aging our very own tsikoudia, producing our own olive oil and preparing ourselves using the best raw materials of our place.

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