‘A slice of pastry heaven’: 81-year-old bakery in Nicosia up for sale

Owner of iconic bakery Hurricane in the old city since 1942 says it’s time to retire

If tradition had a taste, to some it would be a cheese pie – specifically, Hurricane’s humble cheese pie.

Too cheesy? Well, take it from a seasoned cheese pie afficionado. “When I worked in old Nicosia I used to buy a Hurricane cheese pie every day on the way to the office. It was like biting into a slice of pastry heaven,” Josephine Soteriou told the Cyprus Mail.

“If the nearby kafenio which stocked them was out, they would send someone round to Hurricane on a moped to bring more and we’d wait for them to arrive. The pies cost 40 cents back in the 1990s.”

For many there’s more to it than just the flavour: it’s 81 impressive years of history.

Hurricane, the confectionary/bakery in old Nicosia named after the World War II British fighter plane, was opened in 1942 and has made it through into the modern era. That’s not the case for Spitfire the similarly named – and once equally popular – café nearby, which has lain dormant and derelict on the Green Line since 1974.

“It opened during the period of British rule and there were many English customers,” the owner, Nikos Nikolaou, told the Cyprus Mail, adding that he still makes mince pies and Eccles cakes on Saturdays.

But his key product is the humble cheese pie, true to the recipe passed down over 81 years.

Nikolaou followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the business in 1989, his father had worked there as a confectioner since the 1960s, and took it over the following year.

The small shop, sandwiched between larger buildings in Nicosia’s old town, captures that history in the framed newspaper clippings adorning the walls.

One stands out: Nikolaou next to the original owner’s wife as they celebrated the shop’s 75th anniversary.

Hurricane stands out a time when chunks of cities increasingly become uniform. A coffee shop from a major chain feels the same whether you’re in Barcelona, Berlin or Budapest.

But at Hurricane, time has stood still.

“I’ve kept it traditional; we have the same glass display cases (vitrine) as we did in 1942, the same tables, a lot of the machinery too, the only thing that’s changed are the chairs – and that’s because I couldn’t get them repaired,” he told us.

Indeed, the biscuits in the display cabinet this week were produced from the same oven purchased in 1956.

“I’ve still got the paperwork, for 350 pounds – imagine, back then, you could have bought all of Strovolos and Lakatamia,” he joked.

“And the oven still works!”

The previous owner, he said, had the foresight to buy many more knobs as they occasionally broke, but those finally ran out.

“Think of this: the factory which made it has closed down, but the oven is still here,” Nikolaou said.

But time catches up, and Nikolaou explained how health issues have pushed him to sell the business.

“Sometimes, decisions are made for you,” he conceded. “It’s time for me to rest and pass it on to someone else.”

“I’m attached to this place, you know – after 34 years – I’m happy to help whoever takes it over to get it going under their management, but I can’t do ten-hour days.

However, I can help out although from there on it’s up to them, but I am emotionally attached,” he explained.

Nikolaou said that many offers have been made since the ‘for sale’ sign went up, but his wish is for the business to retain its identity and tradition.

“The support we’ve received from the people is incredible, over the weekend I was replying to the hundreds of calls and messages of people asking about Hurricane and my health,” Nikolaou said.

He explained that there are the steady customers still coming in the shop, however, nowadays the app deliveries account for a lot of their custom too – “I used to do the deliveries myself.”

“So it turns out the internet does work,” the confectioner joked.

“I now have quite a few foreign customers too, tourists, who may have found the place online – perhaps they saw that Paul Hollywood came here, we did some filming, he came and ate a cheese pie,” he beamed.

Soteriou was once one of those foreign visitors, as she fondly recalls.

“A French friend had introduced me to Hurricane in 1986 when I was barely in Cyprus a couple of months telling me they were the best cheese pies in Nicosia. Have sampled many others since, and it’s no exaggeration,” she said.

“Although long gone from the old town, anytime I am in the city centre, I’ll still make my way there and pick up a few to put in the freezer. Only last week I went round but they had none left.”

For other long time Nicosians, Hurricane brings back fond memories of childhood.

“I have memories of being taken there as a treat by my mum when I was little. It wasn’t often that we’d go into town or eat out so you’d appreciate experiences like that more,” said Andria Sophocleous.

“Thinking of the place I feel a warm glow and a very specific traditional bakery smell comes to mind. It will be very sad if we lose such an authentic place,” she told us.

As for the recipes, sometimes simple is best.

“I am neither able nor do I want to try and compete with the major bakery and confectionary chains – I’ve focused on the five things I do well,” Nikolaou said.

He’s especially proud of his amaretto biscuits which are handmade.

“It’s not that they don’t know how to make it traditionally, but they’re just different as they have to produce so many kilos and achieve X amount of customers.

“I see customers as people, not as a number – say, one, two, three, – no, these are my people, it’s a family business,” he said, greeting a customer on the way in.

By now I’m finishing my cup of Cyprus coffee.

“I do this for myself, it takes me longer: take my little chocolates, for example, we make them the same way we did 80 years ago,” he said.

“I didn’t take the easy route, you can make it easy but then it won’t be the same.”