Last Saturday, the phone rang at 5 pm, two in the morning. It was Fotis Krikzonis to ask how the evening goes in the store and, of course, to order if there are friends in the bar to treat them. Maybe because of the quarantine, and then because of the health problems that he has been dealing with lately, he did not go to the most famous hangout with which he identified his name, but his heart was always there. After all, he was the most famous bartender in Greece, the one who put his signature on the best dry martinis, as well as on a series of cocktails that have gone down in history, such as the famous “Amilito Nero”. A man with whom all good Athens communicated after the war, “confessor and psychologist”, who had the honor to serve Frank Sinatra, Churchill, Aristotle Onassis, Horne, Callas, a favorite of the political, business and journalistic world, for his kindness and style. Sitting at the bar, an elegant, sedate and mysterious gentleman, he, like a sniper, saw the entire history of the country pass before his eyes, managing to expose no one in his beautiful autobiography entitled “I, the Bartender.”

He passed away this Saturday at the age of 91 with a well-founded confidence that his three children and grandchildren would carry on his legacy. “I even showed him a video of the cocktails from the store that we posted on Instagram. He wanted to know everything,” his granddaughter Elizabeth tells the column, adding that along with the news of his death, his family received hundreds of messages of condolence from friends and patrons. His funeral will take place tomorrow in the Holy Church of Pantovasilissa in Rafina at 12.00 and with him an entire era, these afternoons and evenings, that if the bar-restaurant had eyes and ears, he would hear all political events, as there was no old Greek prime minister – minister, minister or member of parliament who did not go there. And, of course, journalists were nearby, especially Eleni Vlahova from K.

Life was not easy for him, but he managed to turn his vision into reality in his own way. Originally from Radina Agrafona, as a child he took a job as a coal and ice merchant, became a waiter, busboy and finally a bartender. At the end of 1957, he began working at 17 in Bucharest. It immediately becomes a place visited by everyone, from Psatas and Sophocles Venizelos to Yannis Maris, who writes his books there. Of course, it is also a magnet for famous foreign guests. In 1992, the store moved to Likavittu Street, and since 2017 it has been run by his children Lambros, Mikhail and Altaya. Good colleague Kiki Triantafilli asked him about the virtues of a good bartender: “It is very important not to talk too much, to listen, to see and be silent, but he must also be presentable. Also, always use the plural. In the singular, he gradually loses his prestige, and when he keeps a short distance, his clients respect him as much as he respects them.” Have a good trip and he will definitely serve his friends wherever he goes, most notably Zacho Hatsifotiou.