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“POP HEARTS NAVARINO.”

The sign in the POP Montreal office window jumped out at me as I drove down Parc Ave., Monday morning. An odd but endearing display of affection, I thought, for the landmark neighbourhood café and bakery I grew up next door to. But when I turned on the radio that afternoon, midway through a CBC Homerun report about a cherished Mile End café shutting down, I knew.

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I called Navarino Tuesday morning and asked for Peter Tsatoumas, but was told he had left for the day. I tracked him down on Facebook, receiving an immediate acceptance of my friend request; but when I messaged him about doing a story on Navarino’s closing – radio silence.

Wednesday morning, I called again, but Tsatoumas was “downstairs” and couldn’t come to the phone. I left a message, but I saw where this was going. I walked through Navarino’s door 20 minutes later. The place had changed, again.

When my family moved to Parc and St-Viateur St. in 1983, the little Greek bakery and pastry shop next door became a regular stop for its honey-and-nut-filled baklavas. The Greek magazines on the rack in front of the counter provided a hint of exoticism, and the fridge on the other side had milk, eggs and other basics to get you through in a pinch.