Family-run Greek pastry shop Hellas Cakes will close after 60 years serving Melbourne
July 27, 2021
The family owners of Hellas Cakes, a 60-year-old Greek pastry shop in Melbourne, have announced they will sell the business, after the COVID-19 pandemic brought forward their plans to close.
Business owner Peter Laliotis, who took over the business from his father George Laliotis, said plans to close the shop “were on the cards” and the pandemic pushed him to make the decision sooner.
“We’ve come to a point where we’ve said enough is enough and we need to move on, and we’ve decided we’re going to close its doors,” Laliotis told Sunrise.
The end of Hellas Cakes, Melbourne’s iconic Greek pastry shop, has struck a chord in the heart of the Greek community.
Generations of Greeks grew up with sweet memories of the first zaharoplasteio in Melbourne, that opened its doors in 1962, in the ‘Greek suburb’ of Richmond.
Founder, Iraklis Kenos, was an established pastry chef who had mastered the art by the age of 12 in Athens, and – as a result of his skill – the business was destined to flourish. Soon after, Mr Kenos acquired a business partner: his old acquaintance from Athens, George Laliotis, who immigrated to Australia in the 1970s. Later on, George Kandaras joined the team.