History

Αlthough inconspicuous and almost invisible to passers-by, with their constant presence in Greek popular culture, they still stand to tell their own story. 

The word periptero (kiosk) comes from the ancient Greek word “peripteros", which identifies a temple surrounded by columns.

Kiosk is called a small building, which serves either just to display products (e.g. a stand at exhibitions) or as a small shop, on a site authorized by local authorities.

This is a Greek patent, at least in its beginnings, since it is a centuries-old Greek institution.

The kiosks were given the exclusive right to sell tobacco products, which initially served as a tax collection mechanism to ensure that the state generated revenue from the sale of tobacco. Prior to their appearance, bulk cigarettes and tobacco were sold by street vendors who could not be effectively controlled. 

1828: The origins of the kiosk are found in the small tobacco shops that appear after the liberation first in Nafplio and later on in Athens

1889: The first kiosks appear in the provinces as a form of financial aid to wounded and disabled soldiers.

1897: After the catastrophic war between Greece and Turkey, kiosks begin to multiply.

1911: The first kiosk makes its appearance  in Athens. It is located on Panepistimiou Street.

1914: The dimensions and appearance of the kiosks become uniform throughout the country: 0.70x0.70m.

1919: Sotiris Skipis, in an article in the newspaper SKRIPT, praises the kiosks as a means of spreading the Greek press

1922: All Kiosks in the country are ceded to the "Panhellenic Association of War Injured 1912-1921" by the Ministry of Health. The kiosks cannot be sold, transferred, mortgaged or leased. After the death of the beneficiary, they are granted for five years to the children or his wife.

Interwar period: During the interwar period, only newspapers, cigarettes sold in bulk and some substandard sugar products were sold at the kiosks

1940: Sales of "candies" (mainly from the company ION), soft drinks (lemonades and sodas IVI), mint-flavored chewing gums and later chocolate begin to be sold.

1943-44: other categories of beneficiaries enter: victims of war and victims of peace.

1950: Telephones are installed in kiosks this decade.

1970: By this time the dimensions had increased (1.30x1.50 m), while shutters and refrigerators had been installed.

1980: More public space begins to be granted to the kiosks by the Local Government.

2002: It is also allowed for the disabled of the civilian population, e.g. people injured by mines, to obtain a kiosk license. The fighters of the National Resistance, the disabled of the Democratic Army, had already joined in the 1980s.

Products: The products sold at the kiosks reached 2,500 items of merchandise.

2006: The dimensions of the kiosks increase by 20 points. The new ones are 1.50x1.70. The surrounding area is 2.55 sq.m.

2007: Permission is granted to veterans of the war in Cyprus and to people with severe disabilities

Rent: Rent before the crisis ranged - on average - from 700 to 1,300 euros, depending on the area in which they were located.

2012: The Ministry of Defense decides to release the restrictions on licenses, assigning 70% of the kiosks to the municipalities and 30% to people with special needs and large families based on income criteria. Law 4046/2012 dictates that existing kiosk licenses remain in force, but they can no longer be transferred or bequeathed.

New licenses: The concession of the right to use the remaining licenses  (i.e. 30%) are granted by auction. The time limit granted for  the right of use may not exceed 10 years. It is forbidden to rent or sublease, a practice of decades.

Lifting of restrictions: In the same year the restrictions were practically lifted based on population criteria, the existence of a limited number of people exploiting them, the restriction of permanent residence, the restriction of rent only to individuals.

2013: The kiosks amount to approximately 10,000 throughout Greece. Of these, 3,500 are in Attica. Of the 1,300 of the Municipality of Athens, about 500 have been abandoned since the beginning of the crisis.

Turnover: The turnover of kiosks throughout Greece is estimated at 5 billion euros. The profit left to the owners is limited to 9-10%.

2014: The Municipality of Athens implements a program to demolish abandoned kiosks whose ownership status has been resolved, which is estimated at about 300.

The kiosks have now lost their importance and significance. In the past, they starred in the daily life of the Greek citizens. Once upon a time, the kiosk was the only telephone owner. Anyone who wanted to call or receive a phone call went to the kiosk. This way, the owner was intimate to  the secrets of the whole neighborhood. Today, with technology galloping, kiosks do not have phones.

In the past, when the morning and evening newspapers, hung from the pegs around the kiosks, the residents took their time reading the news in the absence of television and the internet. With the newspaper being the most important media outlet, the owner knew from the newspaper the customer bought, which political party they belonged to. He was the one who knew the brand of cigarettes that their customers smoked, the habits of the whole neighborhood. 

Today, many kiosk owners have been forced to close  down and others to change the image of their kiosk according to the new developments. The surviving kiosks, having overcome the financial crisis, have entered the period of consumption, since one can find everything there. Many of the kiosks have changed their original function and are now selling bijoux or e-cigarette products and mobile accessories.

The new type of convenience stores, which have sprung up in recent years on main streets, operate on a 24-hour basis and sell cigarettes, beverages, soft drinks, newspapers, magazines, coffee and food, while undermining the existence and replacing classic kiosks in many neighborhoods of Thessaloniki.

Gradually, the city centers are disposed of their kiosks, which were once found in almost every next square of a street.

Amidst the crisis and with the competition being fierce, kiosks even today are the places where  one can get magazines, newspapers, cigarettes, bus and parking tickets, mobile speaking time.

Their glorious era is still dominant in the memories of the senior citizens, but also in the Greek films, in which several scenes have been shot with the kiosk playing a prominent role.