The current building known as ‘T & T Cakes and Pastries’ may lay claim to be the longest serving café in Grenfell.

On 27 February 1914, a big fire in Main Street destroyed existing shops between S. Procter & Son and the Newsagency.

Following the fire, a cafe was erected for the Limbers brothers.  The business then appears to have been sold to Theo Valahoupolas, whose advertisement can be seen in a 1928 edition of the Record.

In the early 1950s, the café was bought and run by Nick and Pauline Fouzas under the name ‘Korinthia Café’.  The glass doors at the entrance still have the initials ‘K’ and ‘C’ on them for ‘Korinthia Café’. Daughter Nicki Fouzas will be attending the ‘Meet and Greek’ weekend.

In the mid 1950s, the café was bought and run by Theo and Olga Parashos.  Son Peter was born in Grenfell hospital in 1957.  In 1961, Theo Parashos became an Australian citizen, with his certificate signed by the Mayor, C.L. Mendham.  From the photo above, it appears that the café was called ‘The Admiral’ for a time.  While the Parashos family moved from Grenfell in 1962,  Peter has retained his Grenfell ‘roots’, often returning with his family for Henry Lawson Festival weekends.  Peter has gone on to a stellar career.  He is currently the Professorial Chair of Endodontics and Head of Restorative Dentistry at Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne.  Peter is delighted to be part of the ‘Meet and Greek’ weekend.

Following the departure of the Parashos family, the café became a butchery, owned by Keith Ritchie.  It later returned to its place as a café, becoming ‘The Loaded Dog’ and ‘Dog Goes Wild’ before becoming both a bakery and café as it is now, ‘T&T Cakes and Pastries’.

Research is being undertaken to uncover two unknown facts about the building.  One iswhen the building was known as ‘The Monterey’ and the owners at that time.  The  second is the exact location of one of the earliest cafes in Grenfell, ‘The Thermopylae Dining Rooms’, where Nicholas, [later, Sir Nicholas] Laurantus first worked when he came to Grenfell in 1908.  An advertisement in the Record suggests that the ‘dining rooms’ may have been where Clive Anderson Real Estate is situated.  Other thoughts are that it was also situated in the ‘T&T Cakes and Pastries’ building. 

Please come and welcome home our returning Greek Grenfellians at the ‘Meet and Greek Dinner Dance’ on Saturday November 19.  Tickets available at Bendigo Bank and Exchange Hotel. Dancing, easy listening and conversation (as you wish) to the sounds of renowned Sydney group ‘Paradise’.

Thanks to the Grenfell Historical Museum, Geoff McClelland, Peter Grossman, Phillip Diprose, Nicki Fouzas and Professor Parashos for this information.