The legendary restaurant that was associated with the secular life of Thessaloniki and hosted famous personalities from all over the world is coming back to life.
A preserved building-jewel of Thessaloniki and the Olympos Naoussa restaurant that was housed in it are being renovated and given life again. The project is a partnership between two companies (TOR Hotel Group and Grivalia Hospitality) who undertook the construction of a luxury hotel called ON Residence, reviving the legendary restaurant that was associated with the secular life of the city and hosted eminent personalities from all over the world. The works for the regeneration of the legendary "Olympos Naoussa" are in the final stretch and the new hotel is expected to open its doors on April 29, 2022
A few days ago, part of the jewel building was unveiled, in the Old Beach. In fact, as Mr. Tornivoukas emphasizes, at the end of next week it is expected that the unveiling of the overall restored exterior of the building - a symbol for the city, works on which are counting down to their completion.
The opening of the favorite restaurant "Olympos Naoussa", which is eagerly awaited by many Thessalonians who had connected their memories of the past with this particular place, was for a number of years, the center of secular Thessaloniki. It was the favorite hangout for prominent personalities and politicians such as George Papandreou, Konstantinos Karamanlis, Giscard d'Estaing while many others had the opportunity to enjoy their lunch or dinner, until its closure in the mid-90s.
The luxury hotel
The ON Residence, which is spread over six floors, has 60 luxurious rooms including eight suites, the main restaurant "Olympos Naoussa" on the ground floor with a beautiful inner courtyard, the Tiger Loop cocktail bar and a modern gym.
A hangout for the worldly, with the luxury of another era
"Within a building of eclecticism, with elements of belle époque and neoclassicism, the cosmopolitan hangout stood out for its nobility, its dishes, its luxury: high-ceilinged rooms, European tapestries, Viennese wicker chairs, white linen tablecloths, crockery with its monogram restaurant -special order of 1951 from Bavaria-, silver cutlery and crockery, American oil stoves, cool garden on the patio, tables on the sidewalk of Niki Avenue overlooking the sea, experienced and polite waiters in black trousers, waistcoat, white jacket, bow ties and a towel on the wrist of the left hand" says the journalist Iota Mirtsiotis in an article in the "K" magazine about Olympos Naoussa.
The epicenter of secular Thessaloniki for decades, it was a favorite hangout for famous personalities and politicians such as George Papandreou, Konstantinos Karamanlis, Giscard d'Estaing and many more, until its closure in the mid-1990s. "His cuisine was praised by tasters, writers and foreign correspondents. "The best food in Greece", wrote a response from Thessaloniki (6.1.1968) in the Daily Telegraph, about "bags of oysters that were left to cool in front of the restaurant's entrance", Michel Bitor, extolling his famous dishes, cooked with traditional recipes: hunquiar beyendi, bouillabaisse (fish soup with clams), grouper with Athenian mayonnaise, soups of various kinds and pies, dolmades, Schnitzel Hoffmann and viennoise, entrees, pommes de paille potatoes, filet mignon a la madera, but also the famous mussel pilaf which "it left packed for the foodies of Athens from Olympiaki's offices on Komninon Street" continues the article of "K" magazine.
ON Residence the new era
"Olympos Naoussa returns to the city of Thessaloniki. Our vision to revive the historic restaurant, but also to create together with the Tornivuka family a hotel destination of incomparable beauty and high level of service is being completed. We are sure that all visitors will love and embrace it, as we did from the very beginning. Grivalia Hospitality is currently implementing an investment program of more than 500 million euros which will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of our country in the international arena of quality tourism", states Giorgos Chrysikos, CEO of Grivalia. ON Residence will have 60 luxurious rooms, the main restaurant Olympus Naoussa on the ground floor along with a beautiful inner courtyard, the cocktail bar Tiger Loop, a modern gym, but also a specially designed mezzanine ideal for business meetings and events.
For Konstantinos Tornivoukas, CEO of Tor Hotel Group, ON Residence is a key project for the company and for Thessaloniki itself. "After the violent shutdown of the Mediterranean due to the earthquake in 1978, my dream was always to be able to return to the beach with a project that possessed the momentum of the legendary hotel founded by my namesake grandfather in 1925. When therefore, the Olympos Naoussa property was auctioned, which was also connected to the Mediterranean due to their immediate proximity but also their similar history, I considered it an opportunity, but also our family's debt to the city, to restore the historical restaurant, and at the same time to create a high standard hotel that would pick up the thread of luxury hospitality in Thessaloniki from where we left it after the closure of the Mediterranean. Tor Hotel Group's partnership with Grivalia Hospitality allowed us to realize this dream," he says.
The luxurious design that dynamically unites the past with the present
The property that houses the ON Residence was designed by the architect Jacques Moschet and built in 1926. It is a typical example of the city's architecture of the interwar era in the context of the eclecticism of the first decades of the 20th century, with elements that refer to belle époque and neoclassicism . The building's significant past essentially provided the basic guidelines for the architects, Divercity and Dimitris Thomopoulos who worked together on the project. The preservation of the appearance and the decorative elements of the building, which were reproduced and preserved with the suggestions of the Ministry of Interior, were among the key elements of their approach to this project. Thus, with absolute respect for the building's architectural features from its glorious past, the architects took care to bring back to the surface all the features that made the building so unique, but also to carefully combine them with elements of today, always with the aim of achieving of a harmonious coexistence. The award-winning architects Nikiforidis and Cuomo undertook the design of the surrounding area, while the office of Nikos Fletoridis prepared the implementation of the architectural study.
The interior design was handled by the French decorator Fabienne Spahn who wanted to give a renewed classic-art deco style, enriching it with a discreet luxury, matching the character of the building. "On my first visit to the place I felt like I was in the house of Sleeping Beauty. Bringing the place back to life using modern design elements but fully respecting the architecture of the building was a big challenge. It reminds me of the great brasseries in Paris with their neoclassical charm,” he says.
The reception area was designed with inspiration from the 50s, using plenty of elements of velvet, wood and brass. In the main restaurant, a space more closely connected to the history of the building, the textures, the bronze and blown glass lamps, but also the furniture move in art deco rhythms. The palette is gray and blue, signature colors of the historic restaurant, while the famous bistro chairs that once stood here have been redesigned for more comfort.
The hotel has 60 rooms of various categories: Standard Rooms (Courtyard View), Deluxe Rooms (Sea Front View), ON Suites (Junior Suites) and ON Residences (Suites). In the decoration, classic design meets calm luxury with soft, natural color tones and touches of light pink and green. High quality materials and bold patterns on the carpets complete a setting of timeless chic. Amenities such as Marshall speakers, Nespresso coffee machines and 55-inch televisions set their own tone to the art of ON Residence hospitality.
Gastronomy always in the foreground
The most important culinary heritage of Olympos Naoussa and its absolute identification with the cuisine of Thessaloniki could not but be key elements of the new taste identity of ON Residence. Thus, the hotel's main restaurant retains the legendary name Olympus Naoussa, while the elegant interior blends decorative elements from the restaurant's past and European bistros in the most beautiful way, filtering them with a modern, urban aesthetic. Beyond the refined atmosphere of the restaurant hall, the visitor is also invited to discover a unique, "hidden" green courtyard.
This is a rare oasis of relaxation in the bustling city center and something that was definitely missing. The kitchen is overseen by executive chef Dimitris Tassiolas, a key representative of a new, highly dynamic generation of chefs in Northern Greece, with important and award-winning projects, such as Sembriko and Thria, for which the Sunday Times Travel magazine awarded the title Gourmand's Destination in 2019. "The roots of my cuisine extend to the kitchens of the Jews, the Slavs, the Ottomans, the Smyrna, the Pontus. My ambition is to deconstruct and recompose the culinary tradition of the place in a modern proposal, which expresses this city and matures with it. Materials and traditions from the Mediterranean basin blend with pioneering techniques and bold ideas, to bring a piece of the history of the future to the desires of today," he states.
Tiger Loop, a cozy cocktail bar with art deco decorative elements, completes the special dining scene. Here, black, gold and deep red dominate, with the space full of movement and energy. The catalog is curated by the award-winning bartender and entrepreneur, Achilleas Plakidas. Known for favorite haunts he created such as Gorilla and Mahalo, here he is called upon to give a cosmopolitan twist to the flavors.
The history of "Olympus-Naoussa"
The course of "Olympos-Naoussa" over time began as a brewery, a few years after the merger - in 1920 - of the "Olympos" brewery (which in 1926 was acquired by Karolos Fix) and the "Naoussa" brewery-ice creamery. In 1926, the ground floor of the building was given for exploitation and in 1927 the restaurant began its operation.
During the German Occupation, the venue operated as a cabaret and music hall, before being restored as a restaurant, with its silver cutlery and linen tablecloths and monogrammed crockery specially commissioned from Bavaria in 1951. The reputation for fine dishes that the patrons could taste goes outside the borders of Thessaloniki and Greece. However, after a long successful run the end credits for the restaurant fell in June 1994.
In 2017, the building passed into the "hands" of "Tor Hotel Group", which has in its portfolio the hotels "Excelsior" and "City" in Thessaloniki and "Eagles Palace" and "Eagles Villas" in Halkidiki, and Grivalia, against for a price of approximately 5.5 million euros, following a tender announced by the owner Eurobank.
The jewel building was declared a listed building in 1993 as it is a typical example of the architecture of the city of the interwar era in the context of the eclecticism of the first decades of the 20th century, with elements that refer to the Belle Époque and neoclassicism.
With information from Gastonomos and voria.gr