The end of an era for one of the most iconic personalities in Mykonos entertainment, Nikos Gryparis, the man who linked his name with the legendary “Caprice” and “Sea Satin”, a magnet for international celebrities from the world of entertainment, such as Kevin Costner, Gina Davis, Tom Hanks, Sarah Jessica Parker, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and many more.

On the morning of Thursday 20 June 2024, the electronic auction is due to take place for one of the two properties owned by businessman Nikos Gryparis, former owner of two legendary Mykonos nightlife venues, the cosmopolitan “Caprice” and the party club “Sea Satin”, which have written their own history on the Island, a history that has been captured on the pages of major international magazines such as “Newsweek”.

An apartment of Nikos Gryparis in Chora and a villa in Fanari are put up for auction. The auction is being conducted by Cepal Hellas, a loan and credit management company on behalf of Alpha Bank, with a first bid price of EUR 859,000.

Agents of the real estate market who spoke to “THEMA” estimate that this property in Aleucandra, in Mykonos Town, can change hands at a price of more than 1.2 million euros and this because it is strategically located on the square, not even 50 meters from Little Venice, the most photographed point of the island.

€859.000 is the starting price for the first floor apartment (153,84 sq.m.) of Nikos Gryparis in Mykonos Town, a short distance from Little Venice

It is a 1st floor apartment with a small ground floor storage room, but with a balcony overlooking the sunset and the endless blue.

The property has an area of 153.84 sq.m. and occupies the first floor of a two-storey building, the ground floor of which belongs to the heirs of Georgios Halkiopoulos, except for the ground floor storage room and the toilet which belong to Nikos Gryparis.

€2,5 million is the starting price for the villa of Nikos Gryparis in Fanari. A property on a plot of 4 acres, with a total area of 175 sq.m.

This property was seized for a debt of 203.965,63 euros, while there is a mortgage lien of 469.552 euros in favour of Alpha Bank, as well as a mortgage lien of 240.000 euros in favour of the same bank.

The auction document also refers to the compulsory seizure of 281,495 in favour of the Municipality of Mykonos for old debts of the entrepreneur which, it seems, were never settled.

Debts relating to municipal taxes, the amount of which was disputed by the businessman, who referred to ‘miscalculations’, with the result that the dispute was taken to court.

Gogo Mastrokosta and Thomas Liakounakos dancing at “Sea Satin”

But the property in Aleucandra is not the only asset of Nikos Gryparis to be auctioned off. A month earlier, on May 23, his villa in Fanari is also put up for auction.

Nikos Gryparis and his ex-wife, Melpo Tsoukali

An independent and self-contained property on a plot of 4 acres, outside the plan and within the ZOE, with a total area of 175 sq.m.

The first bid price has been set at 2.5 million euros, while Cepal Hellas on behalf of Alpha Bank is again the foreclosing agent.

But how can a businessman of such size, who in his glory days could have bought the whole of Mykonos, now see his property confiscated ?

Matt Damon in the new “Sea Satin”, opened by the Nammos Group

People who know Nikos Gryparis well speak of a man ‘who did not scrimp on money but spent it generously, sometimes without a tomorrow’.

He organised tables, invited friends and colleagues and always paid out of his own pocket.

The “soul” of “Sea Satin” Mimis Foucas with Sarah Jessica Parker

“He would go out to lunch at noon and 10 people would sit next to him and eat who didn’t pay. The bill was settled by Mr. Nikos,” a person who knew him told THEMA.

The same persons speak of a businessman who buckled under the weight of some possibly wrong business moves. They refer to some that did not work out well for him and some spasmodic ones that worked against him.

For example, they refer to the padlock that he closed the gold mine shop he had opened in Fokilidou in Kolonaki in order to cash in on the moments of glory he enjoyed in the summers at the ‘Sea Satin’ in Mykonos.

The businessman, at one time, thought it prudent not to give in to the pressures of the owner of the property to increase the rent and preferred to close it down.

It was a time when lunchtime entertainment was a must, especially on Saturdays, with the ‘Sea Satin’ overflowing with people.

The same was true of another money pit, the Aleucandra Fish Tavern, which his father, George, leased for years. At some point the owner of the property asked for “air” to sign a new lease (it had been heard for an amount exceeding 200,000 euros), but the businessman was adamant.

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He did not agree to the money he was asking for and preferred to leave a shop which, if it worked properly, could yield gold.

Eventually this ended up with the Nice’n Easy Group, businessman Dimitris Christoforidis and chef Christos Athanasiadis.

It should be noted that there had been previous failed business moves, always in the catering sector, with the opening of shops in Alimos and Mykonos, which did not succeed for various reasons.