Historic “Farmakion – Optika Chatzipavlou” has reopened in Old Nicosia — now as a café-bar

In the very heart of Old Nicosia, on Faneromeni Square, the renewed space “Φαρμακείον – Οπτικά Χατζηπαύλου” has opened — a place with more than 100 years of history. Once, it housed a family-run pharmacy and optics business founded in 1909 by the grandfather of the current owner, Michalis Chatzipavlou. For decades the shop was part of everyday life in the neighbourhood, and now, after careful restoration, it has been transformed into a warm café and all-day bar that brings new life to the old town.

Chatzipavlou preserved the authentic spirit of the place: inside remain old scales, glass bottles, eye-testing equipment and the famous armchair of his ophthalmologist grandfather on the mezzanine. The restoration was carried out with the support of the Faneromeni church council but almost without any help from the municipality, the owner notes. Today, not only tourists visit the place, but also young people, students and long-time residents of the district — many come specifically to see the renewed space connected to their memories.

According to Michalis Chatzipavlou, opening the café became for him a “duty to family and urban memory”: the building was saved from oblivion, and the old pharmakeion has turned into a living “organism” and a new point of attraction within the city walls. The new format combines a modern bar with a nostalgic atmosphere: the menu features signature cocktails, while the interior includes details reminiscent of the times when medicines were mixed by hand and glasses were fitted using traditional methods.