Back in Finneytown when I was growing up, my parents would refer to Athena Foods by the name of the woman who owned the shop back then: Audrey's. As in "We need to go to Audrey's, we're running out of feta," the plastic vat of brine-bathing cheese dangerously light. Or "Where's Baba [Dad]?" "He went to Audrey's for olives and glika [sweets]." (The man's lifeblood). The store also used to carry VHS tapes from Greece and cassettes for purchase and rental, as well as icons and church incense. Upon my return to Finneytown for the first time since I was a teenager, my husband and I stopped by Audrey's (no longer technically Audrey's, the store's switched owners twice since the nineties; it is now owned by another member of the significant Greek community in the area). The store hasn't changed in size--it is not big at all--and not much in appearance either, although it is clean-looking and smelling and a little less cluttered than I remember. Its selection, while certainly not enormous, is delightfully varied for its smallness. Beyond feta and olives, the store also carries:
*a wide range of different jams (we nabbed an intriguing fig and sesame jam to take home)
*candied fruits and nuts, from rose petals to pistachios to eggplant--yes, candied eggplant--to quince to figs to lemons to walnuts. As my grandpa says, Greeks will candy anything, including goat poops, if they were to be so inclined.
*halvas (different brands and different flavors: pistachio, cocoa-swirled, almond)
*a couple of cases of imported juices in flavors like tart cherry and apricot
*pantry staples including dried and canned beans, tahini, a number of shapes and sizes of macaronis, trahana made with both sweet and sour milk, olive oils, and vinegars
*imported cookies and crackers (sweet and savory) and pasteli/sesame candies from Greece and throughout the Middle East
*prepared foods, including Lenten faves, like spanakorizo
The fun items and friendly service made my return, over a decade later, memorable and sweet. Stop in for pantry staples, and pick up some unique prepackaged imported goods to try while you're in. read more