It’s all over for an icon of Melbourne’s Greek culture, in the latest change to a strip that was once the heart of the city’s diaspora.
Beloved dessert shop International Cakes has closed after more than six decades in Lonsdale Street.
Bill Batzogiannis has retired after running International Cakes for more than 50 years.Credit: Justin McManus
Melbourne has one of the biggest Greek populations outside the homeland. Most of the 160,000 Greek immigrants who arrived in Australia after World War II settled in Victoria, according to Museums Victoria.
Lonsdale Street emerged as the community’s centre, with many new arrivals working at the nearby Queen Victoria Hospital. Special signposts were installed in the area bearing Greek colours and symbols.
But the strip – which drew comparison with Chinatown or Lygon Street’s Little Italy – is not the “Little Athens” it was in the 1960s and ’70s.
Venues that once served traditional Greek fare such as moussaka or baklava have given way to offerings of Chinese dumplings or Vietnamese pho.
Even the Greek Centre, a cultural hub that runs events and education programs, welcomes visitors with a Korean dessert cafe on its ground floor.
International Cakes’ retiring owner Bill Batzogiannis said the 62-year-old shop – a Lonsdale Street institution – had been an important place for many in the community.
“It was a meeting place when the new migrants come from Greece, and they could find there somewhere to speak Greek and meet their mates,” he said.
“Many customers, they already expressed their feelings that they are sad to see it going.”
Batzogiannis – who has owned the shop since 1973 – said many businesses had left the area as the Greek community became less concentrated in the CBD.
“The street, it changed a lot,” he said.
Greek Precinct Association president Jorge Menidis said the closure of International Cakes was another sign of the departure from the “old world”.
“It was a little bit heartbreaking to see Bill and the family move on,” Menidis said.
But, he said, it would not spell the end for the Greek precinct, which remained important both culturally and historically.
Lonsdale Street has hosted the Antipodes Festival for decades.
“Though the retail front has changed, what Lonsdale Street means to Greek Melbourne hasn’t changed,” he said. “As long as the Greek Centre is here, we will forever have that connection.”
Lonsdale Street also hosts the Antipodes Festival, a celebration of Greek culture which drew more than 100,000 people earlier this year, Menidis said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the festival, and announced from a stage outside Greek restaurant Stalactites that the venue was his favourite spot in Melbourne.
Stalactites remains the crown jewel of Greek Lonsdale Street, offering traditional food to customers who line up out the door waiting for a table.
Nicole Konstandakopoulos owns Stalactites, one of the last Greek-inspired restaurants on Lonsdale Street.Credit: Simon Schluter
The restaurant has been operated by the same Greek family since 1978. Owner Nicole Konstandakopoulos said it began as a family business in which relatives could gain employment in a new country.
“[It is] just a very normal migrant story,” she said. “The reason it’s called Stalactites is because it was a way of reminiscing the caves of Sparta, where my grandfather was originally from.”
Konstandakopoulos said the Greek precinct remained important, but it was natural for cities to change over time.
“We’re more Melbourne than we are Greek now,” she said. “We’re second generation. Now my kids are third generation ... We’ve been on the same corner almost 50 years.
“We just try to stay true to ourselves.”
Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the City of Melbourne would support the opening of new Greek businesses, including an art gallery and the Greek National Tourism Office.
“We’ll ensure it remains a place where the contributions of Melbourne’s Greek community are celebrated for years to come,” Reece said.
Menidis said much of the diaspora had shifted to Oakleigh, where rents were cheaper, but the CBD precinct would continue to embrace change to meet the community’s current needs.
More than 14 per cent of Oakleigh residents report having Greek ancestry, compared with 2.8 per cent in Victoria, according to the latest census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
“The business needs of the community have changed, the Greek community has changed,” Menidis said. “In the 1920s, they were all about oyster bars, but the world changes.”
And what will replace International Cakes? Menidis remained tight-lipped, but said a new hospitality venture would be an exciting addition to the street.