Greece’s traditional kiosks fading away

A kiosk on downtown Athens’ Stadiou Street in 1960. The economic crisis, the pandemic and new consumer habits have all conspired in the decline of the number of kiosks, once an intrinsic feature of life for Greeks. Indicatively, of the 9,904 kiosks across Greece in 2010 just 4,985 remain today. Of those, 1,000 are within the boundaries of the Municipality of Athens, though only 400 are in operation. Just a few weeks ago, the local authority put 28 kiosks, many of them in central locations, under the hammer. The licenses for almost a third of vacant kiosks are allocated by municipalities to vulnerable people looking for a source of income, while the remaining unwanted businesses are auctioned off.