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The building that houses a beloved milk bar frozen in time for six decades is up for sale after its elderly owner moved into a nursing home.
Nick Fotiou ran the Olympia Milk Bar in Sydney’s inner west and barely took a day off after buying it with his brother, John, in 1959, even as the building collapsed around them.
As the cityscape of Parramatta Road in Stanmore changed around him, the Greek immigrant donned his apron and served up milkshakes, tea and burgers.
However, the building fell into disrepair and Mr. Fotiou refused all offers to help maintain it, even when the local council tried to evict him on security grounds.
Nick Fotiou ran Olympia Milk Bar in Sydney’s inner west and barely took a day off after buying it with his brother, John, in 1959, even as the building collapsed around them.
What remains of the two-story store will be sold at auction on March 7, with the front boarded up and covered in graffiti and billboards announcing music concerts.
Olympia finally closed in early 2021 when its defiant owner moved into a nursing home at age 91.
What remains of the two-story storefront will be sold at auction on March 7, with the front boarded up and covered in graffiti and billboards announcing musical concerts.
Raine & Horne Commercial advertised the 214-square-metre building as a “rebuild or redevelopment opportunity”, despite it being listed on the NSW Heritage Register.
‘Zoning and building controls allow for a multitude of uses and redevelopment options. The property will appeal to a wide range of owner-occupiers, investors, and builder/developers,” the announcement said.
The property, which is being sold by the Public Receiver on Mr. Fotiou’s behalf, is expected to fetch between $600,000 and $1 million.
While the strip mall is now unrecognizable, little has changed inside since the store was refurbished in 1939.
Owner Nick Fotiou has been a constant presence on Parramatta Road in Stanmore, Sydney’s inner west, but has now moved into a care home.
Even as the Parramatta Road streetscape in Stanmore changed, the store stayed the same
Decades-old posters lined the walls, including from the 1970s band The Street, and the shelves were stacked with old boxes of chocolate bars and drink cans.
Mr. Fotiou would emerge from the shadows to take orders and process payment at an old-fashioned cash register.
The lights in the milk bar were always off, and Mr. Fotiou lived above the shop and was reluctant to discuss his private life.
He refused to give up even when dust collected on the old decorations and mold began to appear, or when the ceiling collapsed.
The building became so decrepit that the local council, after a long battle, closed it in 2018 until repairs were carried out.
But the elderly owner refused to be rushed, insisting that he could go ahead and fix the asbestos, rodent problem, and leaky roof at his own pace.
The decrepit building has been deteriorating for many years and is now boarded up.
While the strip strip is unrecognizable, little has changed on the interior since the original Olympia you bought in 1939 was fitted.
Mr. Fotiou would emerge from the shadows to take orders while hunched over the bar and process payment at an old-fashioned cash register.
Decades-old posters lined the walls, including from the 1970s band The Street, and the shelves were stacked with old boxes of chocolate bars and drink cans.
It even briefly reopened in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve had problems and problems and problems,” Fotiou told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2018 of his fight to keep the venue open.
‘Slowly, slowly, slowly… But don’t rush me. How long it will take, I have no idea,” he said in broken English with a thick Greek accent about his plans to restore his store.
The shop had legions of fans, including a 4,500-strong Facebook page, but the proud owner turned down all offers to help fix it.
“He was talking like he was planning to do the repairs himself,” one person wrote on the page during a 2017 effort to prevent the council from being shut down.
‘Without prompting, he admitted that his ladder is not safe to use when he is alone. I strongly discouraged him from going up there.
“When I asked him if he would accept money to help with the repairs as a grant or an unconditional gift, he said, ‘I’m telling you what I told the council, I want my clients back.'”
Olympia had legions of fans, including a 4,500-strong Facebook page, but the proud owner turned down all offers to help fix it.
All it allowed was a bit of temporary and ultimately unsuccessful work, patching up the roof.
Mr. Fotiou bought the building with his brother John in 1959, and the property retains its original furnishings dating back two decades (interior pictured)
Known as Dr. Death or Dracula because the lights in the milk bar are always off, Mr. Fotiou lives above the store and is reluctant to talk about his private life (pictured is the milk bar)
All he allowed was a temporary, and ultimately unsuccessful, job to repair the roof.
Now the milk bar is boarded up and Mr. Fotiou has finally accepted the end of an era and has moved into a nursing home.
The NSW Heritage Register describes the milk bar as “historically significant as evidence of the development of leisure-related commercial activities along this section of the Parramatta Road since 1912”.
Originally a pool hall, it reopened as a milk bar in 1939 and has retained its name and furnishings ever since, including a colorful terrazzo reading ‘Olympia’ on the floor.
The Olympia featured in at least one novel, two songs, several works of art, was the subject of a radio documentary.
Any refurbishment of the store would have to meet strict requirements to keep its rich history as intact as possible.
Some photos provided by Eamon Donnellytaken for The Milk Bar Book.
The Olympia has been featured in at least one novel, two songs, several works of art, and has been the subject of a radio documentary.
Mr. Fotiou dressed in his apron every day and served milkshakes, tea, and burgers.