A long chapter came to a close on the evening of Saturday, September 5, in Avlemonas.
After 23 summers, Stavros Kyriakakis’s Arachthopoleio closed its doors at the small harbor that, for thousands of people, had become synonymous with summers in Kythira.
It wasn't just a café-bar that closed.
A hangout has closed. A small music venue. A meeting place. A place where people of different ages, backgrounds, and musical tastes could gather around a table, with a drink and—most importantly—a song.
Arachto-Polio was founded in the summer of 2004, when musician and DJ Stavros Kyriakakis decided to fulfill, as he himself has said, a childhood dream: to open his own little bar on Kythira. Over the years, he referred to it as a «big part» of himself and said that it was there that he tested out his music—both as a DJ and as a musician—and that it was also there that many of his collaborations and musical friendships were born.
Where nature itself set the scene
Perhaps no architectural concept could have created what was already there.
The small lower harbor of Avlemonas. The little boats. The caiques. The fishermen’s nets. Vardiola, just a few meters away. The last light of the afternoon, and then the moon over the sea.
It was against this backdrop that Stavros’s musical selections came into play: soul, funk, ethnic, world, jazz, rock, reggae, Greek covers, and sounds you wouldn’t expect to hear on an island like Kythira. Because Stavros truly brought a rich and high-quality musical palette to the island of Kythira, one that made our souls happier, more carefree, and more fulfilled.
And somewhere amid the music, there were always cocktails. Arachtopoleio had built its own bar, with carefully crafted recipes, experiments, and drinks that, over the years, gained their own following. For many, in fact, a visit to Avlemonas also included this little tradition: «Let's go get a cocktail at Stavros's.».
It wasn't just an accompaniment to the music. It was part of the story itself.
So the Arachto-polio never became just «another store in Avlemonas.» It developed its own character.
Travel guides and articles began to highlight it precisely because of this combination of scenery and music. The Daily In a feature on the Ionian Islands, presenting it as an atmospheric bar overlooking the little harbor with its boats and caiques, with Stavros Kyriakakis selecting world and ethnic music, while the Athens Voice For years, it has been included among Kythira's top entertainment spots for its cocktails and live music.
And just like that, through word of mouth, summer after summer, it gained a following of people who kept coming back again and again.
It's not just about the cocktail. It's about the feeling, the experience.
A small music venue in Avlemonas
The most important chapter in his life, however, was music.
Over the course of its 23 summers, the Arachtopoleio has hosted an impressive array of artists, musicians, and bands from different generations and musical backgrounds, many of whom are among the most prominent figures in the Greek jazz, world, rock, and contemporary music scenes.
Ο Vasilis Kazoulis, the Dimitris Zervoudakis, the Miltos Paschalidis, the Manolis Famellos, the Stathis Drogosis, the Andriana Babali and the Joanna Drigo Different generations and styles of Greek songwriting were brought to Avlemonas.
Ο Haig Yazdjian, with his oud and his unique musical world, brought the sounds of the East and world music, while the Blues Wire brought their own authentic blues style to the stage. Also performing at the Arachtopoleio were George Limakis, the Opera Chaotique, but also the Sera Bello’s Vocal Quartet by Seraphim Bellou, featuring Xenia Dania and Monique Kabasele on vocals and Giorgos Dellis on piano.
Jazz and improvisation constituted a distinct chapter in the musical history of Arachthopoleio, with the Christian Ronig, the Roosey Blue and, of course, the Human Touch — David Lynch, Gioti Kiourtsoglou, and Stavros Lantsias — three leading musicians who have repeatedly performed at Avlemonas’s beloved hangout.
Song, jazz, blues, world music, and improvisation have all come together over the years in this very spot, just a few meters from the sea and the little boats of Avlemonas. An impressive musical legacy that has now become an integral part of the history of Arachtopoleio.
And the journey continued.
It is no coincidence that Stavros has described the Arachto-polio as a place where musical friendships were born. One of these began in Kythira in 2015 with Giotis Kiourtsoglou and later developed into a collaboration with Kallistratos Drakopoulos.
More Than Just Music
Over the past 23 years, this little hangout hasn't been limited to just live performances.
It hosted cultural evenings, book presentations, and various forms of artistic expression. In 2022, for example, the stand-up comedian Stelios Anatolitis He gave two performances there, while book presentations were also held at the Arachto-polio, including those by Maros Leonardou.
Also in 2016, the venue had been made available for an event dedicated to the «Mentor» shipwreck and the Parthenon Sculptures, featuring speakers, authors, and a children’s choir.
In other words, the Arachto-Shop had achieved something rare:
to serve simultaneously as a café, a bar, a music venue, a cultural space, and—above all—a great summer hangout.
The family behind the Arachto-Shop
And while Stavros was the musical heart and soul of the place, the Arachto-polio was a family business from the very beginning.
It was Mrs. Tasia’s famous desserts—the chocolate cake and the orange cake—that had almost become famous in their own right. It was the people who worked there all those summers. It was the sweet Kyri-Yiannis, Stavros’s father, who always made sure everything ran like clockwork at that lovely hangout. And in recent years, there was also Orpheas Kyriakakis, who took on an active role alongside his father.
That is why the history of Arachtopoleio cannot be told solely through press releases and the names of artists. Because it was written, above all, by people. By groups of friends who sat on the steps. By couples who had their first drink there. By kids who grew up and returned years later.
From the people of Kythira, members of the diaspora, and visitors who may have only passed through once but kept this little corner of Avlemonas in their vacation memories
A simple «thank you» isn’t enough
For all of us who experienced those evenings, who found ourselves there at least once when the moon rose over the little harbor and the music could be heard among the little boats, a simple «thank you» to Stavros and his family seems like too little.
Because some businesses close and are replaced. And there are places that, when they close, leave a void behind. The Arachto-polio falls into the second category. On Saturday, September 5, it wasn’t just the door of a store that closed.
A chapter in the island’s modern summer history has come to a close.
And there, alongside him, remained 23 summers of music, friends, moonlit nights, flavors, laughter, love, and homecomings—somewhere between Vardola, the boats, and the sea.
A Journey to Other Seas
Stavros had already foreshadowed the end, saying that the Arachthopoleio would «set sail» in search of its next port.
And maybe that’s the right ending after all. Not a goodbye. A departure.
So, fair winds, Stavros. And may you discover many new ports.
Because our hangouts may have an address, but music doesn't.
And the trip to Kythira, in any case, was never just a trip to a place.
It was always a journey with a purpose.
And it goes on.
