It will be a full circle moment for Bundaberg’s Mel Lathouras as she brings her show Our Big Fat Greek Café home to the Moncrieff stage in September.
Created and performed in partnership with Katerini Manolatos as Girl From Greece, this live music and storytelling production celebrates the stories of the Greek café families who helped shape regional Australia.
The Lathouras family established the Café Royal and Café Elite on Bourbong Street in 1920, while Katerini’s family opened Feros & Feros in Byron Bay in 1932.
Mel said bringing this show to the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre felt like a homecoming.
“When I stand on that Moncrieff stage on 19 September, I’m not just performing a show, I’m coming home to the town that made my family, and the town those cafés fed for over fifty years,” she said.
“I’m no stranger to the Moncrieff stage, that’s where I cut my teeth performing at community events growing up.
“Every one of those experiences shaped me as a performer.”
Mel and Katerini said working on the show together felt very natural as they shared a passion for preserving heritage through music.
“The show really grew from our conversations about our families and the incredible similarities in our histories,” they said.
“We both love blending Greek music with jazz and we balance each other beautifully, there’s a lot of laughter in the rehearsal room, but also a shared respect for the generations who came before us.”
The duo said that, while the show was their way of honouring their hardworking grandparents, it still offered something for everyone.
“Whether you grew up in a Greek café or just remember your local milk bar, there’s something very universal about these places, they were where communities came together,” they said.
“People can expect to laugh, maybe shed a tear and leave thinking about their own family stories.”
Mel said she looked forward to spending time with family while she was home and exploring more of their history together.
“Honestly, the best part will be looking out at that Moncrieff audience and seeing faces I’ve known my whole life sitting next to people I’ve never met, all listening to the same story,” she said.
“That’s what Greek cafés did in this town.
“It feels right that we’re doing it again on stage.”
Lathouras family history in Bundaberg
The four Lathouras brothers migrated to Australia from Asia Minor (now Turkey) before World War I, settling in Bundaberg.
They opened Café Royal and Café Elite on Bourbong Street in 1920 and operated horse-drawn ice cream carts remembered as Bundaberg’s original Mr Whippy.
The cafés operated for over 50 years, employing a staff of 25 and becoming social hubs.
The family’s artefacts, including original crockery, receipt books and photographs, are held in the State Library of Queensland’s collection.
Find Mel and Katerini’s recordings of family members telling their stories here.
