After two decades of abandonment, the historic Minion department store has reopened its doors to the public—albeit in a very different form than many may remember.

The reopening is marked by the launch of Zara inside the revamped Minion building. In recent days, final touches were made to what is now one of the largest Zara stores in Europe, alongside the one in Piraeus.

The store spans four levels—basement, ground floor, first and second floors. Unlike Zara’s flagship in the Piraeus Tower, this one doesn’t include a homeware section, focusing exclusively on men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories.

Minion is back

The property, located at the junction of 28th October (Patission), Veranzerou, Dorou, and Chatovriandou streets, is coming back to life—not as the traditional department store of the past, but as a mixed-use building. In addition to the Zara store, the same company is leasing 2,220 sq.m. of office space on the third and fourth floors. The Greek Public Power Corporation (DEI) will also have a presence in the remaining upper levels.

Beyond its commercial uses, Minion will also include residential space. Developer Dimand is constructing an eight-story apartment building in one wing of the former department store.

The Birth of a Legend

The story of Minion began in 1934, when Yiannis Georgakas and Angelos Serafimidis opened a small kiosk under the name “Minion.” In 1944, Georgakas discovered the building on Patission Street, gradually acquiring it with the vision of transforming it into a department store that would house his growing business.

By the 1950s, Minion had grown into a retail powerhouse with 120,000 products and 1,000 employees, generating profits close to 1 billion drachmas.

A true pioneer for its time—thanks to the innovative Georgakas—Minion introduced annual sales, fixed pricing (eliminating haggling), advertising on radio and later TV, escalators, air conditioning, computer systems, shopping and wedding registries, in-house training programs for staff, an in-store restaurant-bar, artistic events, car sales, an exclusive partnership with Walt Disney World (bringing over original Disney costumes from Orlando), and of course, the beloved tradition of Santa Claus handing out gifts to children—making Minion the place “where dreams come true.”

The Fire, Nationalization, and Shutdown

In the early hours of December 19, 1980, the department store was completely destroyed by arson. In 1983, the building was restored with loans and reopened, but mounting debts led to its nationalization.

In 1991, following a public tender, Georgakas bought Minion back from the state. However, in 1998, the store closed permanently, and the property was acquired by Elmec Sports, owned by the Fais family.

After Elmec was sold to the Folli Follie group, the property transferred to Folli Follie Holdings S.A. Initially, there was an attempt to lease the building to the Ministry of the Environment. When that failed, the company began plans to convert the site into a retail store—a process halted in 2018 when financial fraud within the group was uncovered.

In 2019, the building’s value was estimated at €25 million. It had stood empty for 20 years, its exterior covered in a large mural. In 2021, the Minion building was auctioned, and the winning bid—exceeding €25 million—came from real estate developer Dimand.