He opened a restaurant in Kalamata that offered quality flavours and emphasised the origin of the raw materials.
Nikos Maniateas has a passion for work, he likes to achieve the ideal in everything he does. He does not give up in the face of difficulties, he is consistent and disciplined. He has been involved in volleyball for over 20 years.
"Sports was, and continues to be, a huge chapter in my daily life", he told me at our meeting in Kalamata, the city where he was born and raised.
Today Nikos is a restaurateur. He has an elegant restaurant in Kalamata which has set itself the goal of offering quality flavours with an emphasis on the origin of the raw material.
But let's take things from the beginning.
"I was still going to school when my father, in the late 90s, in 1999 specifically, started a farm in the village of Gaitses in Messinian Mani. He raised roosters, rabbits, calves, and wild pigs. A year later, in 2000, he opened a butcher's shop in Kalamata," he said.
I asked him to tell me more about those years, and with a quick calculation, I concluded that in 2000, he was already in his teens.
"It wasn't easy for me to go to the butcher shop. I preferred sports. Volleyball had entered my daily life for good, and the demands were enough. But on the other hand, I was also curious to see what was happening in the shop. I wanted to go to the farm more," Nikos said.
The Butcher Tavern of 2002
Two years later, in 2002, his parents opened a meat taverna in an additional space that existed behind and next to the butcher's shop. It quickly became known for the ribs. People from all over the region come to try the now-famous ribs.
Business increased, the farm took a different direction, and only calves were raised, certified organic and free range. Nikos devoted more and more time to sports and volleyball, with his team, "Kalamata '80", reaching A2.
The hard loss and the next day
"Where you think you have everything under control, where you think things are going perfectly, something happens that lands you abruptly and in the most painful way," he said.
Nikos suddenly loses his father.
"It's like the sky has fallen on our heads," he added.
Together with his mother and his sister, and as he is almost 30 years old, he feels that he now has to make other decisions about life. He picked up where his father left off.
At the beginning of the text, I mentioned that he is consistent, disciplined, and likes to achieve the ideal in everything he does. He picks up from where his father left off and entered for good into the field of the - possibly - harder everyday life.
He does not leave sports though.
"On the contrary, sport is what gives me strength and strengthens me amidst these difficulties," Nikos explained.
He quickly makes the first decisions while maintaining the farm, but in a framework that can bring them through. It includes people who know from breeding and continue.
The taverna has completely changed now.
"That may have been my internal reaction to the loss," he pondered.
The butcher's taverna was converted into a restaurant named "Kreopoleion 29".
His love for meat
It has already gained fame for aging meats and cuts. He started timidly, bringing imported meats, and the farm meats go to the butcher.
Since 2020, all the restaurant's raw materials are Greek.
"Besides the animals, I am now also engaged in cultivating olives while maintaining a garden. A part of the vegetables I need in the store come from there," he proudly said
Lately, he has added another activity related to honey production:
"It is a very difficult process, which intrigues me. Beekeeping is not simple; however, I constantly try to learn to produce pure and quality honey, which we will also use in our recipes."
Today, the restaurant features 40-day-aged Greek beef, while the prime rib dish has never left the menu.
"This is what established us almost 25 years ago. Good ribs are a dish that will always be a best seller," Nikos said.
We also tried the fresh salads, with most of the vegetables coming from the garden that Nikos maintains in Mani.
"I make sure to have as many products as possible, following the seasonality," he said while a plate of goat and handmade trahana arrives at the table, as well as the delicious veal giouvetsi with handmade orzo.
Another dish worth trying is the beef T-bone steak from the farm's top-quality meats. Its unique, buttery taste and incredible crisp freshness will be unforgettable.
Elena and the 10 kilometres
When we spoke, he had just returned from Mani. He had gone to the olive field to tend to the branches. After our talk, he went for a run. His partner Elena is actively involved in sports and motivates him.
Every time I'm in Kalamata, I make sure to stop by the restaurant. I may not stay to eat, but I will always have taken something from this dynamic and the appetite of this person who always has something new and hopeful to say.
Address: Kreopolion 29, Faron 29, Kalamata, Tel: 27210 28249, Instagram: kreopolion29
Dimitris Stathopoulos is a columnist for Travel. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.
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