At the edge of the main square in Gavalochori is a hub of activity that is S. M. Fronimos, which stands for “Supermarket Manolis Fronimos.” White umbrellas, display cases of food, and an ice-cream chest invite you into the well-stocked shop and affiliate of the SYN.KA supermarket chain, where you can find just about anything you might need. The store also serves its customers with home delivery.
Manolis began running the market in 2002, and it has been in his family for a long time. His grandmother on his father’s side started the shop in 1932, selling just a few items such as beans, lentils, and rice. The building that houses the store is almost a century old and was much smaller back then. In fact, his grandmother’s six children slept behind the shop in a room that is now part of the store. Manolis is pleased to be able to carry on his grandmother’s legacy and to provide a convenience store for Gavalochori. He and his wife Vaso Spatharaki have three children who are still teenagers, but he hopes one of them will eventually take over the market and continue the tradition his grandmother began.
The building that houses the supermarket played an unusual role when the Germans occupied Gavalochori between 1941 and 1945. Gavalianos Kafenes or “Monica’s Taverna” was used as a watchtower by the Germans, and the market, which stayed open during the occupation, provided a way for villagers to escape notice of the Germans. The shop formerly had a small doorway behind the sleeping area that the villagers used as an escape route. If they wanted to get away from the Germans quickly or not attract attention for something they were doing, they would enter the supermarket and go through the door at the back, following a largely hidden path that took them to Platanaki Square, where the Arismari Taverna is now located, and from there to behind the Folklore Museum.
The supermarket not only provides food to residents of Gavalochori, but it plays another important role in the village as well—it is the post office. It functions as a place to receive but not send mail. Some people have their own mailboxes across the street from the supermarket, but if people are sent parcels that don’t fit in those boxes, the letter carrier leaves them at the store. This saves the recipients from having to drive to Vryses to get their packages. People who don’t have mailboxes receive all of their mail there, and they periodically go to a box at the back of the supermarket and leaf through the letters to see if they find anything addressed to them.
The shop’s customers are both Greeks and foreigners. In fact, some foreigners who live in Gavalochori or the surrounding area have been coming to the supermarket for over 20 years.
In the summer, the shop is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. In the winter, it is open daily between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
At the edge of the main square in Gavalochori is a hub of activity that is S. M. Fronimos, which stands for “Supermarket Manolis Fronimos.” White umbrellas, display cases of food, and an ice-cream chest invite you into the well-stocked shop and affiliate of the SYN.KA supermarket chain, where you can find just about anything you might need. The store also serves its customers with home delivery.
Manolis began running the market in 2002, and it has been in his family for a long time. His grandmother on his father’s side started the shop in 1932, selling just a few items such as beans, lentils, and rice. The building that houses the store is almost a century old and was much smaller back then. In fact, his grandmother’s six children slept behind the shop in a room that is now part of the store. Manolis is pleased to be able to carry on his grandmother’s legacy and to provide a convenience store for Gavalochori. He and his wife Vaso Spatharaki have three children who are still teenagers, but he hopes one of them will eventually take over the market and continue the tradition his grandmother began.
The building that houses the supermarket played an unusual role when the Germans occupied Gavalochori between 1941 and 1945. Gavalianos Kafenes or “Monica’s Taverna” was used as a watchtower by the Germans, and the market, which stayed open during the occupation, provided a way for villagers to escape notice of the Germans. The shop formerly had a small doorway behind the sleeping area that the villagers used as an escape route. If they wanted to get away from the Germans quickly or not attract attention for something they were doing, they would enter the supermarket and go through the door at the back, following a largely hidden path that took them to Platanaki Square, where the Arismari Taverna is now located, and from there to behind the Folklore Museum.
The supermarket not only provides food to residents of Gavalochori, but it plays another important role in the village as well—it is the post office. It functions as a place to receive but not send mail. Some people have their own mailboxes across the street from the supermarket, but if people are sent parcels that don’t fit in those boxes, the letter carrier leaves them at the store. This saves the recipients from having to drive to Vryses to get their packages. People who don’t have mailboxes receive all of their mail there, and they periodically go to a box at the back of the supermarket and leaf through the letters to see if they find anything addressed to them.
The shop’s customers are both Greeks and foreigners. In fact, some foreigners who live in Gavalochori or the surrounding area have been coming to the supermarket for over 20 years.
In the summer, the shop is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. In the winter, it is open daily between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
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