The Belly Dance Chronicles May/Jun/Jul/Aug 2021 Volume 19, Issue 2 | Page 25

great help . At one point or another , most of their children also worked here in some capacity , and now , even a few of the grandchildren contribute . The restaurant has always been named the Athenian Corner .
Lowell has always been home to a large Greek population , so there was a high demand for Greek food . As is the case with many immigrants who aren ’ t able to seek other professions that required college and advanced degrees , they eventually target owning their own business and the food industry is a common one for immigrant groups . Importantly , my parents have always loved cooking , so the recipes that we still use are the recipes they brought over from Greece and used to cook at home !
What was their vision ?
Their vision was for a place that was upscale , without being too elegant and pretentious , while also remaining affordable to the people who lived and worked in a working-class city . They also wanted to create a touch of Athens in the heart of downtown Lowell , so the décor and ambiance were centered on that vision . That is why live Greek and Middle Eastern entertainment and dancing has been offered multiple nights a week since the very beginning . Their goal was to create a place where the guest becomes part of the family .
Stavros
When did they purchase the property on Market Street in Lowell , MA , and open the business there ? What were , if any , the easiest aspects of the purchase ?
They purchased the property in September 1974 . Not that there ’ s anything easy about purchasing a business property , but they were fortunate to find a perfect location at a time when Lowell was on a bit of a downswing . Therefore , the now-very-valuable property was pretty affordable . The building itself is named The Putnam Building and is listed on the National Historic Register . Market Street is located in the heart of downtown Lowell in the Historic District . My best guess is that it was built in the 1860s as part of the Industrial Revolution . The building used to house various businesses and , from 1967 to 1974 , it housed an Irish Pub called The Limerick Pub . The same people who owned the pub also owned the building ! They sold BOTH the business and the property to my parents in 1974 .
The adjacent parking lot was owned by another local
May 2021 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 25