Mount Athos: Supermarket opens – The cell that became a shopping center – 2024-09-28 05:34:46

Can the opening of a supermarket of only 140 square meters arouse reactions, denials and passions? If it is located in Karyes, the capital of Mount Athos, it seems that it can, even if food supply stores have existed for centuries in the administrative center of the monastic state.

The reason for the new store of AB Vasilopoulos in the longest-running but least populated Balkan capital, which after several delays will finally open tomorrow, September 25, exactly one year after the relevant statements of Mr. Nikos Lavidas, CEO of the chain.

Why was the opening of the AB Vassilopoulos store delayed?

Although the initial plans of AB Vassilopoulos were to open a corporate store in the center of Mount Athos, in the end the management of the Greek subsidiary of the Dutch-Belgian group Ahold-Delhaize decided that a franchise solution is more advantageous.

Hence the AB Shop & Go store of 140 sq.m. (314 sq.m. including storage areas) opens tomorrow through the company Athoniki Emporiki with shareholders Alexandros Kesapidis from Thessaloniki and Styliano Zarbanis from Samos, following the procedure that applies to all shop owners in Karyes.

As for the reasons for the constant postponements of the new store opening, sources close to the AB Vassilopoulos chain say there were construction delays.

The store, whose official opening will take place in November, employs 8 people and has 3,500 codes of packaged products (from vegetables, fruit and meat to other grocery items) on its shelves and refrigerators.

The cell that became a shopping center

The new AB store is hosted in the multipurpose building with a total area of ​​2,500 sq.m., a few meters away from Protato, the central temple of Karia, where the miraculous icon of Panagia Axion Esti is located.

This is the former cell of Agios Nikolaos (the so-called Samaradiko), which belongs to the Holy Monastery of Megistis Lavra.

The construction of the new building by SATTO IKE through the company OIKODOMAIN IKE of the brothers Dimitris and Stavros Suanis, started in 2020 and was completed in 2023.

Completely integrated into the site, the building, which retained the name Samaradiko, also has dormitories for lay people, a restaurant-café, a physical therapy clinic, a store with ecclesiastical items and an optical shop.

Employee accommodation

In fact, some of the rooms on the upper floors will be rented out for the long-term stay of the employees.

It should be noted that in Karyes there is the building of the Administration of Mount Athos, which is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Police building, a doctor’s office, a post office, a bank, bakeries, a courier company, a tailor’s shop, a bookstore, grocery stores, various shops from church items to building materials and laboratories.
150 thousand pilgrims annually

Mount Athos is visited every year by about 150 thousand pilgrims with three-day overnight stays, while over 1,000 people work in the wider area, mainly in the construction industry.

According to the 2021 census, in the Monastic Community of Mount Athos, the population decreased by 3.6%, with permanent residents – all men – reaching 1,746, compared to 1,811 residents in 2011.

The refutation of the Monastery of Esfigmenou

According to some circles, the legal brotherhood of the Monastery of Esfigmenou seems to have something to do with the whole project, but this is denied by the Monastery itself categorically.

In her announcement, she says: “In para-religious fringe publications and on similar websites, publications about non-existent relationships and alleged involvement of our Monastery in the imminent installation of a food supply store in Karyes of Mount Athos have recently come to light.

“The store in question does not differ in any way from the already existing stores in the area of ​​Karea, with the only difference being that its owners cooperate with a well-known chain of food stores through the franchise system. Food supply shops have existed for centuries in the administrative center of Mount Athos. All the shops in Karyes work legally with permission from the Holy Community. The Holy Community is of course not involved in the internal organization of these stores nor in their relations with third parties – suppliers and others.

“Contrary to what is being spread in the false reports, we declare that as the Esfigmenou Monastery we have nothing to do with the project in question.

“The aforementioned publications attempt to scandalize the public and cultivate a climate of discredit against the Holy Community of St. Mountains and of our Monastery. Obviously, in trying to hurt us, their ultimate goal is to prevent the imminent evacuation of the occupation of the central building of our Monastery.”

Source: ot.gr