The Cafés of Terra Verde

Terra Verde is the grocery store of our hearts. It creates the warm atmosphere of old-fashioned shops, where it is not uncommon to see customers striking up a casual conversation amidst the lentils, the books, and the wines. However, when the shops close at 9:00 p.m., the shutters must go down, the customers must leave, and the gathering must break up. At some point, an idea came up: “Why should we break it up? Let’s stay a little longer and enjoy it.”

And that is how the “Monday Café” was born. Volunteer friends of Terra Verde (in the current lineup: Antonis, Grigoris, Dimitris, and Kimonas) take on the task of transforming the grocery store into a “bakalotaverna” (a traditional grocery-tavern). Around 8:30 p.m., the counters are pushed aside, two or three folding tables are unfolded, and crates are flipped over to serve as seats. Every Monday, the “seasoned coffee-makers” of Terra Verde see to it that a warm atmosphere is created—the kind that has made Mondays on Tsouderon Street a sweet addiction.

The bulk wine and local beers gradually brought with them literary inspiration. It became a habit that, sometime after 9 p.m., the café would transform for a while into a literary salon. Anyone who wishes can read a poem they loved, a short story they recently finished, an excerpt from their travel diary, or a few pages of reflection. Everything is welcome.

In the end, the “seasoned coffee-makers” turn into DJs, taking requests for anything from Hadjidakis and Social Waste to Kazantzidis, Malamas, or Litsa Diamanti. Whatever the group is in the mood for.

So if on some Monday night you find yourself walking down Tsouderon Street, completely unsuspecting, and a poem hits you right out of the blue, don’t lose your cool. Come on in to Terra Verde. And if the place feels a bit crowded… well, ‘it’s on our heads,’ as we say in Crete—meaning there’s always room for one more.