The Thessaloniki of the 80s is still alive!

The 80s and 90s left an indelible mark on pop culture, and in Thessaloniki some nostalgics of those decades found a way to keep their spirit alive. From pinball shops and arcades to vintage clothes and traditional sweets, the city is home to authentic corners that revive the charm of those times.

The El Paso venue, ARCADES.GR and shops such as V for Vintage and Old Fashion offer a special experience to visitors, while the historic pastry shop in Dorkada brings flavors from another era. In these spaces, Thessaloniki lives and breathes with its retro aesthetics and nostalgia for the eras that have left behind something unique. It is very interesting how the biggest community of our childhood, Cult Battles, is made in SKG.

” From the oldest to the youngest, it is very interesting that all these different aspects of the '80s and '90s impact differently, but with the same excitement and intensity. For the older ones, because their childhood memories and experiences are awakened, while for the younger ones, because a new world unfolds in front of them. You can't imagine what it's like to see the children of your classmates holding a music cassette and trying to understand how it is possible to hear music from this strange thing" says Stelios Papadopoulos, founder (and as we call him "Guardian of nostalgia ”) of Cult Battles! El Paso is an underground space in Agios Dimitrios, which hardly catches your eye if you don't know it, but it is a genuine and welcoming pinball arcade, which has not changed at all over time and for that reason those who have passed through its door, they have to say it.

In addition to being the owner of El Paso, Mr. Christos was one of the first to bring electronic games to the city and the countryside in the 80s. Born in Germany, he came to Greece in his 20s. Tourism management graduate, trilingual, husband, father and rock star. Rock because he is unstoppable, star because he has a big fan club. It only takes a couple of conversations to win you over! (St. Dimitriou 140)

Elena and Nikos, from Pieria, came to Thessaloniki and stayed for good starting their own business.The special thing about V for Vintage is that... it's 2 shops in one and to be precise, on one side you'll find the men's section and on the other the women's section! "We have mainly 80s, 90s and some 70s & 2000s. But our favorite is the 80s. Both stylistically and musically. Also in the store you will find accessories such as glasses, belts, scarves and jewelry" they say. (Armenopoulou 29).

Nektarios and Stella combined their love for vintage clothing and made a difference by adding their bar to a crazy combination of clothing and catering. “Old Fashion opened in December 2018 and Old Fashion Rusty Bar opened in 2022. In the stores we host clothes from the 70s to the 2000s. In the store we have 90s wide trousers, branded sportswear, items in cardigans and sweatshirts and overalls and in general all the clothes that remind us of our carefree teenage moments. Casual everyday outfits based on hip hop and skate culture.

At OlddFashion Rusty Bar you will find stylistic options that cover all tastes. There are all sizes and almost all categories in pants.” they say (Melenikou 5) Jenny Blond is one of the nicest wine shops that we cannot fail to mention. It reminds of vintage shops in London and all the clothes are fine and well preserved. (Sigrou 5).

Dads and little mice, and little shoes! What our mothers ate and we tried too, the children of the 80s still exist. We found them in Dorkada, in Kassandros. The Patisserie makes authentic sweets, prepared with pure ingredients and traditional recipes. In its fridges and shelves you will find traditional cookies and galaktobourek, creams, rice milk, babades, pastoulas and chocolate pies. Madness! (Kassandrou 66).

Of course, it is impossible not to mention the pastry shop Deligeorgakis, another time capsule that does not "step" on the 80s, but its aesthetics remind us of all the pastry shops of our childhood. The patisserie is still tradition oriented having now passed into the third generation. Here you will get Turkish delights, syrups, peaches and petit fours, all prepared as in the old days. (58 Agia Sophia).

Let's take a nostalgic look back in time and go to the 80s-90s, where one thing that characterized the pop culture of those decades were arcade games and the first video game consoles. Kostas managed to revive the joy of those decades through his shop, called ARCADES.GR in Thessaloniki, perhaps the only one in Greece that exists and manufactures arcade games from scratch. "We started about a decade ago making coin-free games for home use," he says. (3 Agrianon, Toumba)

Source: https://exostis.gr