Booze Cooperative

Booze Cooperative is a cultural venue in Monastiraki, Athens, at 57 Kolokotroni Street. Its neoclassical building dates to 1867, and founder Nikos Louvros developed a former carriage house there as a cultural space. Its story goes back to 1985, when a hard-rock club opened upstairs as the first bar in the area; the venue’s own site dates Booze Cooperativa at the address to 1989. The building has four floors and a mezzanine.

The venue’s areas included BaseGallery, Cooperativa, UPstairs and Terminal-Stage, alongside a basement, exhibition space and rooms for meetings and work. Events and activities ranged from concerts, theatre, dance and performance to screenings, lectures, seminars and book presentations. An adjoining building was added in October 2010, bringing a stoa, two bars, a gallery, book-launch space and seminar room into the premises. Early performers included Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed and the Dead Kennedys. Bllyz and Miss Trouli have run events there, and Bllyz has played.