Athens bakery owner doesn’t dwell on the present
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras said Wednesday he’s close to finalizing the $96.3 billion European bailout package, which his government agreed to while we were in Athens in July.
One of the people we talked to was Olga Karastathi, who runs Chemin bakery and cafe. She’s the one who said if you’ve only got 5 euros in your pocket, why not spend it on a good cup of coffee?
When we checked back in with her recently, she didn’t have booming news about her business.
“The situation remains the same. Nothing has changed yet for the real economy,” she says.
Last time, Karastathi expressed optimism that conditions in Greece would improve. For now, she’s keeping hold of that perspective.
“If Greece makes major reforms … then I guess things can start getting better for all of us, not only my shop,” she says.
And if things don’t?
“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it right now. I want to focus on my business and how to get things better. For example, I intend to add some more products,” Karastathi explains.
She also hopes to get the word out about her bakery.
“And of course I have a job for you,” she says. “You can [help me] be worldwide famous.”
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