Ρεπορτάζ
Bakery cafe
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1 The owner of Bakery café Exi, Alexis Adamos. 2
Fanis Logothetidis with his son Dimitris at Trois in Kifissia. 3 The owner of the Vlachos bakeries in Neos Kosmos, Paleo Faliro and Ilioupoli, Vassilis Vlachos.
to include a signature blend that would be identified with our brand was a challenge; to win over the customer in terms of the quality and flavor of the coffee. Already, the response has been very positive and has upward trends”, says. Respectively, for the baker, Nikos Renieris, 40, and his wife, Lina, who opened the Renieris bakery in Ano Glyfada (a suburb of 87,000 at Athens riviera) in 2013, the coffee-centric approach was a vital choice. “People choose us, knowing that, beyond the bakery and confectionery part, they can find high-quality espresso and filter coffee. There are many consumers who have specific quality standards, looking for coffee with
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intense aromas, acidity and a strong aftertaste. By offering our signature, three-origin blend, as well as a single-origin blend from Ethiopia, in collaboration with Kawakom (the local roaster and distributor of the Brazilian coffee giant, Ipanema) we emphasize the importance we give to coffee, as well as our other products. Maintaining the same price levels for both takeaway and sitting-in, we attract audiences seeking value for money. On a daily basis, we serve more than 800 people, with a large percentage of coffee-drinkers choosing to consume it on-site”, says Nikos Renieris.
Quality matters! The reasoning with which a modern boulangerie café approaches the role of coffee is mainly highlighted by the choice of raw materials. From the first moment Blé (from the french word for wheat) bakery cafe opened its doors to the public, in December 2013 in the center of Thessaloniki (the main city in Northern Greece with a population of 790,000), the approach to handmade products with emphasis on the quality of raw materials and their Greek origin became apparent in every aspect of the impressive space within the neoclassical building. Blé is the only bakery in Greece that roasts its own coffee on-site.
In the midst of the general upturn in the cafeteria Greek market, espresso is becoming a profitable product for bakeries and pastry shops, accounting for a significant proportion of total turnover 2
182 SNACK & COFFEE
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