Richmond’s Laikon Deli celebrates 50 years on Bridge Road
From meats, cheeses and preserves to custard bougatsa and one of the best spanakopitas in town, there’s a reason Richmond stalwart Laikon Deli has been around for five decades.
Updated ,first published
I won’t say I’m not excited about new restaurants, but if you really want to impress me, tell me about a place that’s been taking care of its community for 10 years. Or the 20th. Or, in the case of Richmond’s Laikon Deli, a staggering half-century.
When the place opened in 1976, the suburb’s large Greek population quickly came to rely on it for supplies. (The name Laikon roughly translates to “for the people.”) They came for the olive oil, which was otherwise more likely to be found in pharmacies where olive oil was sold as a skin conditioner. Feta was soaked in large salted vats and families would buy two kilograms at a time; This was enough to tide them over until next Saturday. While shoppers chatted with neighbors, store owner John Manolis was slicing up a pound of ham the kids needed for a week’s worth of lunches. Sacks of baked beans were placed here and there, ready to be scooped up and placed in paper bags to be made into soups and stews.
Even though it’s different times, you can feel the history in the air. The shop is now run by Jon Pandoleon, the third generation of the family to run the ship. His parents, Michael and Cathy, took over in 1981 when he was a baby.
“Jon would sit behind the counter, drinking coffee and greeting customers and staff like family,” recalls Cathy, who is now retired but still in the shop every day. “If he threw away his dummy, a customer would pick it up and give it back to him. Everyone was friends.”
Later, Jon was sweeping and packing hazelnuts there, and after studying physiotherapy he thought about trying the delicatessen for a year to ease the burden on his family. This was 23 years ago.
Pandoleon has moved on and is constantly being tweaked. If you rely entirely on nostalgia, you won’t linger for fifty years. The charcuterie range is wider and includes meats, cheeses and preserves from Greece as well as Spain, Italy, France and even Australia. Thoughtful and colorful, the exhibition is a visual feast for the discerning traveller, rather than crammed with items for those with a list and a keen sense of purpose.
Since we’re so busy these days, there’s a sandwich counter for ordering take-out meals (a tub of spaghetti and meatballs, please) and al-desko lunches (you can’t do better than Mr. Simple, which is ham, cheese and tomato toast flavored with pickles).
The biggest change came in 2018, when the deli expanded into the store next door, adding a sit-down cafe. It’s a lovely venue with great lighting and friendly service, nice for get-togethers and solo snacks, but also bookable for your next event.
This is the place to eat one of the best spanokopitas in town, with the perfect ratio of crispy phyllo dough to spinach and cheese, or souvlaki of juicy herbed chicken brightened with tzatziki and red onion.
The family will be celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout the year and will open as a wine bar every Friday night (starting April 24) with deli snacks transformed into drink-friendly bites. On Saturdays, monthly music evenings begin on May 30 with a Greek blues band.
Whether it’s a third-generation shopper stopping in for a tin of pudding or bougatsa dusted with powdered sugar, the ethos of Laikon is the daily grind; local workers plan their weeks around a Friday meal; or someone like me, sitting at a pot full of giant butter beans in tomato sauce with black olives, a hard-boiled egg, and a dollop of crumbled feta cheese.
Even better than the food, of course, is hearing Pandoleon tell patrons that the golden anniversary is meaningful, but it’s no swan song. “There are 50 more left,” he says.
Three more venues celebrating milestones in 2026
ribeye
Few restaurants turning 10 this year leave such an impression ribeye. Maybe it’s the strumming of the grand piano, the lunch ladies making caviar paste, or the always delicious secret herb butter sauce poured over grilled porterone. More French than French, this house is an ode to hospitality.
142-144 Greville Street, Prahran, entrecote.com.au
Mario’s
This month we’re celebrating 40 years of cool, artsy café life. Mario’s He taught Melbourne a lot. When Two Marios – Maccarone and De Pasquale – was released in 1986, all-day breakfast was unknown, solo dining was odd and rare, and jazz was for listening in clubs, not for enjoying over a well-made coffee.
303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, marioscafe.com.au
sogum
Every milestone is worth celebrating. This modest, Korean restaurant serves lunch only, no reservations required just returned. The philosophy of the kitchen is based on the approach of Buddhist nun Jeong Kwan; slow brews form the basis of the menu. As the owners recently said on Instagram: “A meal is only complete when it meets the energy of the person receiving it.”
466 Church Street, Cremorne, instagram.com/sogumm_melbourNo
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