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Grocery Stores in Patitiri and the Old Village

There are a number of grocery stores/supermarkets in Alonnisos, but for the purposes of this post I'm only going to talk about ones we regularly visit that are located in Patitiri and in the Old Village.

PATITIRI GROCERY STORES

In the port town of Patitiri there are actually five different grocery stores, and we've shopped at all but one of them. In general, all stores carry the same basic items at similar prices, but each one also tends to offer items unique to that store. For example, during the summer of 2009 one store was offering a higher-end Dunkelweisen variety of German beer in 500ml bottles, while another uniquely offered a very low-priced beer called Hansa in 330ml and 500ml cans. The other stores we visited had neither of these. So, what we've found over the years is that we wind up visiting 3 - 4 stores on any given shopping trip to make sure we get everything we want! The following is a summary of each of the four stores we tend to visit, and this list is not in any order of preference.

Evaggelia Anagnostou Market

Pictured to your right, this grocery store is located directly across from where the hydrofoil boats arrive. It is operated by Evaggelia Anagnostou and her husband Christos. It has a good selection of all basic grocery items and a good assortment of liquor as well. It also offers some souvenir type merchandise. What most differentiates this store is that it does not close during the typical afternoon siesta time (i.e., 2 - 5PM). In fact, in all the years I've visited the island I've never seen this store close until very late in the evening. During the high season in August the other stores tend to reduce the time they are closed in the afternoon, but for the most part they do close for some period of time.

"Nimi" Supermarket

While I don't know the actual name of this supermarket, my mother-in-law refers to it as "Nimi's." The reason is quite humorous - apparently some years ago a sign-painter who spoke limited English was supposed to paint the word "Mini" in front of market, but instead he painted "Nimi." The name stuck with the foreigners who own homes on the island, and they still use it even though a new sign saying "Super" has replaced the original sign. Pictured to your left, this store is located perhaps 4 blocks from the port on the street that also includes the National Bank of Greece and the Internet Cafe. It's just beyond the huge pine tree that sits in the middle of this street as you travel up. "Nimi" is operated by a charming woman named Dina, and she is assisted by her son and other family members. Over the years we've shopped here Dina has always been very friendly and welcoming. This market has a good selection of products across all categories, a deli counter, and also offers a walk-in cooler with a good selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, this market provides a small assortment of freshly-baked breads.

Pappou Market

The Pappou Market (pictured to your right) is located about 60 meters from the Nimi Supermarket mentioned above and on the same side of the street as well. It is currently operated by two daughters of Eleni Pappou, the original "boss," though Eleni is still involved in the business. The daughters, Dina and Marfoula, are very friendly and helpful, and they both speak very good English. When we lived in Alonnisos for the entire summer of 2000 we developed solid friendships with both daughters, and as such over the years we have tended to shop a bit more at this market than any of the others. This store has a very good selection of grocery items and liquor, as well as a deli counter and a small selection of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Doors Market

While I don't know the proper name of this market either, we call it the "Doors Market" because it features electronic entry doors that open and close automatically. Pictured to your left, this market is the newest in Patitiri, which explains the high tech entrance! In any event, it's located about two blocks up from the Pappou market (go past that market and at the first cross street turn left, then proceed about 1 block and it's on the right). This market is owned by the same family that runs one of the beverage distributorships on the island. The woman who operates it is named Ya-na (phonetic spelling), and although she really doesn't speak much English, her teenage daughter who works there has good command of the language. This store has a broad selection of grocery items and perhaps a wee bit more variety in the liquor department because of its connection to the beverage company referenced earlier. This store also has a fully-stocked deli counter.

OLD VILLAGE MARKETS

Up until perhaps 2006 there were only two relatively small grocery stores nestled in the Old Village away from the main square. These stores were operated by two very well known ladies in the village who are both named "Maria." While those markets still exist in some form, for the most part they are limiting their participation in the grocery business as witnessed by the limited selection in their stores. I do know that one of the Marias is focused on selling homemade feta cheese and eggs, while the other is selling artwork that she paints as well as locally grown oregano and other spices. If you visit Alonnisos and their stores are indeed still open, then I recommend at least purchasing a little something from each of them, if for no other reason than to respect them as the pioneers of the grocery store business in the Old Village.

The grocery store which has supplanted these original stores is located on the ground floor of a two story building right where the bus from Patitiri stops (see photo to your right). Above the store is "The Snack Bar" restaurant that I wrote about in an earlier post. This market is operated Maria and Panayiotis (who also operates a flower and plant store on the road from Patitiri to Votsi), and their teenage daughter Katarina also works in the store. It features a fairly good selection of grocery items, though not as many as the larger stores in Patitiri. It also has a basic selection of liquors and offers some souvenir type merchandise as well. The advantage of this store is that if you're staying in the Old Village you can walk to the market instead of driving or taking a bus all the way to Patitiri. The prices may be a bit higher in some instances, but it can be well worth the trade-off in time necessary to get down to the other stores.

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