Agios Antonios Coffee Shop

That's it Coffee shop of the Women's Agricultural Cooperative of Agios Antonios, in the settlement of Agios Antonios has been operating since 2008 and is the place where the Pontian and not only delicacies of the Cooperative are offered, which was founded in June 1999 and is its first female Cooperative Prefecture of Thessaloniki.

The traditional settlement of Agios Antonios is located on the border of the prefectures of Thessaloniki and Halkidiki and is inhabited by Pontians who settled in the early 20th century with the exchange of populations.

The purpose of the Cooperative was the emancipation and employment of rural women, the strengthening of their family income, the development of the place, the preservation and dissemination of tradition through the production and distribution of a range of healthy, quality handmade products made with passion.

The products produced is the leafy perek - handmade pie sheets baked in the fireplace with wood -, siron, ibristo, macaroni (Pontian products), noodles, trachanas, jams and pastries from fresh seasonal fruits without any preservatives.

Indeed, the Coffee Shop, very tastefully made, in a short time, became a tourist destination, where many visitors visit, to enjoy the view to Mount Olympus, to taste the sweets and the famous perek and of course to do their shopping.

We met the women and the president of the Senior Cooperative Despina Ioannidou who told us about their work:

"The operation of the Coffee Shop was imposed, both by the need for the products of the Cooperative, to be made known to the public of Thessaloniki, but also to promote the place itself. "Since we started in 1999, we have used all the programs to create our workshop, and to train our twenty members, but also to create the coffee shop, which has now become the center of life of the settlement."

Indeed, on Sunday morning and after the church service, the villagers and several visitors arrived to drink their coffee roasted on the embers overlooking Mount Olympus, tasting the famous perek of Agios Antonios, hot, made at that time, with whatever filling they wanted, or with one of the cakes of the cooperative women.

We were also fed up with the delicacies, the abundant view of the landscape but also the energy and enthusiasm of the women of the Cooperative. Another cooperative group of women, another link in a large chain of similar ventures that highlight women's cooperative entrepreneurship but also a sample of the will of women to leave their mark on the economy and culture of their place.