In the final stretch, the works entered the emblematic Mignon building on Veranzerou Street in Omonia, which is expected to open in 2024.

On Tuesday night, the historic Mignon was illuminated with three colors. The orange, which was the trademark of Minion which lasted until the 80’s.

The second color is olive green and white.

The event did not go unnoticed by users on X, who posted photos of the once-adorable capital.

In 1934, the businessman Yiannis Georgakas founded with a partner the first stand called Mignon. From the 1950s it gradually developed into a large department store, with 120,000 items and 1,000 staff.

Arson in 1980

In the midst of the holiday season, in the early hours of December 19, 1980, the department store was destroyed by arson. Most of the Fire Department’s forces were directed to the “Katrantzos” store that was burning at the same time, without effect. It was the beginning of a series of arsons in most major stores of the time, which lasted until July 1981. No one was ever found guilty of any of them and eventually, due to the long lapse of time, the criminal offenses were statute-barred. Only the reinforced concrete of the building was saved from the fire, while “Katrantzos” collapsed in the fire and was never rebuilt.

Relaunch (1983 – 1998)

With loans, the damage to the building was fully repaired and the store reopened in 1983, but due to excessive debts, it was nationalized. It did not show profits until 1990, but Yiannis Georgakas himself remained in charge of the store until 1991, when, after a tender was announced, he bought it again from the state, to finally leave in 1992. Finally, the “Minion” closed in 1998.

It had 9 floors, but the eighth was only opened every festive season. It was the first store in Greece to use indoor escalators and one of the first with air conditioning.