A Greek Legacy
Three Generations Strong.
In 1932, Nikos Kravvaritis left his hometown of Neochori Fthiotidas in central Greece to seek better fortunes. He was just 12 years old at the time and embarked on this journey wearing rustic shoes made of pigskin and carrying his meager possessions in a small saddlebag.
His destination was Thessaloniki, where he had heard that his father's brother, Uncle Yiannis Melachrino, owned a tavern. Nikos stayed at Athanassios Diakos, Uncle Yiannis' tavern, as an apprentice. Under his tutelage, Nikos learned the secrets of the craft for 8 years until 1940 when he was drafted into the army.
Nikos Kravvaritis fought at the Albanian front during World War II, and when the war ended, he remained enlisted due to the Greek Civil War. Meanwhile, Athanassios Diakos had been destroyed during the aerial bombings of the war.
When Nikos returned in 1948 after his army service, he took over the management of the tavern, as his uncle had passed away. He continued to run it until 1953, when he created his own tavern, which he named "The Prodigal Son," carrying on the tradition of his Uncle Yiannis Melachrino.
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By 1970, the original Athanassios Diakos had closed down, and Nikos renamed "The Prodigal Son" to "Athanassios Diakos" in honor of his uncle. It was then the turn of Nikos' sons, Kostas and Andreas, to become his apprentices and learn the secrets of the craft. When they eventually assumed the establishment's management, they renamed it "Kravvaritis' Tavern" in honor of their father, continuing the tradition passed down from generation to generation.
Part of this tradition included making homemade wine fermented in their cellar downstairs, using the same barrels their father and great-uncle had used, as well as crafting delicious appetizers known as "mezedes" in the same way their ancestors had taught them.
Over the years, they catered to a group of regulars known as the Lechrites, who enjoyed their wine, especially the retsina, and the accompanying mezedes. The Lechrites followed the tavern through the decades, despite its various locations, names, and generations of owners.
In 1997, Kostas Kravvaritis came to Philadelphia and opened Zorba's Tavern, while his brother Andreas remained in Thessaloniki to manage the original establishment. Today, Zorba's Tavern is run by Nikos, Maria, Stavros, and Yiannis Kravvaritis, the children of Kostas and Andreas, who continue their fathers', grandfathers', and great-uncle's tradition on this side of the Atlantic.