By Aspasia Zontanou
Placed in the heart of the Altstadt, the so-called old city of Düsseldorf, for more than a decade the Irish Pubs Fatty´s and Sutton’s have been managed by two Greek brothers. In a traditional Irish decoration, various signs of Guinness and famous Irish whiskeys with long well-sounding Gaelic names, old photos of guests partying, smiling to the camera, paintings of famous Irish sportsmen, poets and artist displayed on the wall, proudly reminding the guests of the rich Irish culture.
Vangelis welcomed me with Christos Anesti! He couldn’t make it to church, there is always so much to be taken care of, he said in perfect Greek. He and his brother, who is a year younger, were born in small village near Karditsa, Greece.
“As a boy in a tender age not taller than the bar itself I used to hang around in our dad’s pub, called Edelweiss said Vangelis. They grew up going to school and helping their parents out with the bar until the sudden death of their father. Their mother then took them to Sweden.
Akis remembered the cold long winter and the nice lady who taught them Swedish. After finishing school the brothers parted, Vangelis first to Greece then to Netherlands, Akis stayed in Sweden.
Both used to continue working in bars until they came to Germany and started managing the two pubs. They did well also working in other jobs, but being in charge of a bar is a attitude in life Vangelis tried to describe that special something about this profession: “I like being surrounded with people. The door opens; a new face enters the place and invites you to his life. You got to learn so many things every day, every minute, it’s exciting!”
The cliché about bartenders drinking alcohol does not apply at all to the brothers. Akis pointed out how important it is to stay sober and be 100% in the here and now. Until the day they were hired by the Irish owner of the two pubs, they were somehow always loyal to this profession.
“I couldn’t think of myself doing something else,” Vangelis said and Alkis nodded. And finally being a Greek in Irish Pubs both told me with a big smile, isn’t so unusual, as both nations share a similar attitude toward life, people, music, having fun.
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