Sonia Writer: The History of Lithos

To celebrate the opening of the new bar tonight I had added the interview I did with Miltos some years ago!

Nestled in the heart of Oroklini Village is the Lithos Sports Bar. The bar has a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and is popular with locals and tourists. The owners George and Miltos have developed their business over the years into a thriving bar and restaurant. The Lithos Sports Bar offers a wide range of entertainment, a full cooked menu and some of the best sports coverage in the area. The bar has its own pool team and is also meeting place for the Larnaca writers.

As a regular customer, I decided to ask Miltos & George a few questions!

The building is obviously very old; can you tell me about its history?

It was built in 1921. At that time the house was owned by the family of Kiriaki Michaelidou. Around 1975 when the Turkish soldiers invaded Cyprus, the family moved to England. The house was abandoned until 2003 when my family bought it; as it was in the middle of my grandmother’s property. A year later we began renovating the bar, which was very damaged. Before the renovation, the house consisted of two rooms on ground floor, plus an outside toilet and a further two rooms on the second floor. It also had a nice veranda with panoramic views of the mountains and the sea. Outside, there was a large courtyard with a fig tree in the middle. The building work was completed in 2005. It was one of the first traditional houses to be restored in the village and it was decorated with local Toxni stone.

When did you open the bar and how has it developed?

We opened on June 21st 2006 after receiving all the licenses that we needed to operate as a bar. At first, we opened our upstairs bar and veranda. There are some lovely views up there and in the summer evenings, there is a refreshing breeze from the sea. Since the bar was doing quite well, we decided to move downstairs during the winter, where we could keep our customers cosy with our log burning fireplace. In March 2007 we chose to expand. As the summer was coming, we decided to build an outside bar to enable us to accommodate more people and focus on the entertainment. Two months later, we had completed all the work needed for opening outside. When we first opened, we had only one TV, but we now have seven! We have worked very hard to try and make Lithos the best bar in Oroklini.

What sports coverage do you offer?

We cover the English Premiership, Champions League, Europa League, Euro 2012, as well as other sports such as cricket, rugby, tennis, boxing and motor racing.

You also serve food and have live entertainment?

We offer a selection from salads to sandwiches and traditional Cypriot dishes; our barbecued ribs are especially popular! We vary our live entertainment, which ranges from well-known local singers to karaoke and quiz nights.

How is the Lithos pool team doing?

At the moment we are near the top of the league. We play the league games on Monday nights as well as friendly and practice matches during the week. We are always looking for new players. If anyone would like to join us, they are welcome.

The Tuesday night quiz seems very popular?

The quiz night is always very busy. We started doing the Tuesday quiz over three years ago and we have gained a good following. Our Quiz Master, Paul, is very good.

How can customers contact you?

Lithos has its own page on Facebook. Many of our customers keep in contact with us when they return home from their holidays. We have had some fun pictures and good comments from people who wish to stay in contact with us at Lithos Sports Bar.

Take one last look...memories!