Tributes are pouring in for Greek-born Theodora (Loula) Zantiotis whose extraordinary life ended peacefully at Sacred Heart Hospice, Darlinghurst, on Remembrance Day.
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Loula was a well-known and much-loved member of the community she adopted in 1955 when she joined her husband Peter in the popular Busy Bee Café in Conadilly Street.
Born in 1932 on the Greek island of Kythera, between Pelponis and Crete, Loula migrated to Australia to join her brother and sister at Katoomba in November 1954.
She had been staying with a relative in Sydney when she met the dashing young Peter Zantiotis at a dance in Paddington Town Hall. Peter had already settled in Gunnedah having sailed to Australia by himself in 1936 at the tender age of 12, to join his father Lambros who had purchased the Busy Bee in the 1930s. His sisters and mother Anastasia came later.
After a whirlwind romance, Peter Zantiotis brought his young bride to Gunnedah, where their lives revolved around the Busy Bee and later their three children, Anastasia (Tass), Lambros James (Jim) and Emmanuel (Manni),
Loula’s early life in Gunnedah was filled with unfamiliar customs and a language she did not understand, although other families from Kythera had also settled in Gunnedah.
The Busy Bee in its hey day employed six people, including a cook, and kitchen hands and waiters and opened seven days a week, from 7am to 11.30pm.
When Peter Zantiotis died in 1996, Loula took over the management of the Busy Bee with the support of family and friends.
Out of necessity she reduced the items on the menu but became very well known for her toasted sandwiches and orange freeze, all delivered with a warm smile and ever so friendly service.
Loula’s customers became her friends and many a conversation was held in a back stall in between customers. Her smiling face at the door of the café, watching the world go by, is etched in the memories of so many local residents.
As the years passed and Greek cafes became modernised to move with the times, the Busy Bee retained the art-eco fittings installed by Lamros Zantiotis as his home-town emerged from the Great Depression.
This café became somewhat of a tourist attraction, with its decorative walls and ceilings, original counters and booths – the white china was monogrammed, the teapots solid silver and the mirrors and lighting art deco and, of course, the legendary milkshake maker, with its tin drink containers – for the coldest milkshakes – lining the shelves.
It was a sad day in 2006 when Loula, surrounded by her family, slipped a new padlock on the door saying “yassou and thanks for the memories”.
The Greek café is a wonderful experience lost to today’s generation but the memories will always linger after the National Museum of Australia, in 2013, purchased a representative collection of the Busy Bee's contents and fittings to be displayed in the nation’s capital.
Mass will be offered for Loula at St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, 72 Gardner’s Road, Kingsford, on Monday, November 21, at 1.30pm. The service will be followed by interment at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, Botany.
In typical Loula, style, she asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be collected for the restoration of her childhood parish church, Agio Georgio, Karvounades, on Kythera.
Loula’s family posted the sad news on the Facebook site Gunnedah Memories.
Some of the many wonderful tributes include:
Brett Chapman: “No one ever made an orange freeze like your parents. Your Mum’s smile was always a welcome for us all. She will live on in our memories”.
Peter-Chris Morgan: “Everyone knew her, what a great lady and a sad loss”.
Denise Baldwin: “So sad to hear, she was a lovely lady. I miss going in to the Busy Bee for my ice-cream in a dish, with raspberry flavouring, nuts and malt ... the best. RIP Loula.”
Julie Burgoyne: “A beautiful lady inside and out. My thoughts are with you and the family”.
Shirley Sanson: “I remember your mother well. I always loved the Busy Bee Café; your mum was a hard worker and a lovely lady. RIP”.
Raelee Bruce: “Condolences to your family. Loula was a lovely lady and will always be remembered in Gunnedah”.
Barb Heath: “The end of a wonderful era and a sad time. Kindest thoughts are with you all”.
Peta Devine:” Sending our deepest sympathy and love … you were an absolutely beautiful lady, Gunnedah was a better place for having you in it. Enjoy your orange freeze in heaven”.
Helen Hutton: “My condolences to the family. She was a beautiful, gentle soul”.
Cate Clark: “Prayers … with thanks for a life well lived”.
Jan Commins: “ My greatest pleasure was to introduce my grandchildren to the Busy Bee before it closed. Always had meals there from a child. It was home away from home - great coffee and great company. My oldest grandchild is 15 and still talks about going there and your lovely mum and staff. Prayers and memories for you all. Thank you”.
