Grand Slam Souvlaki

It was love-all when Melbourne’s iconic late night souvlaki institution Stalactites joined forces with the highest ranked Greek tennis player in history, Stefanos Tsitsipas – all in the name of raising funds for mental health.

The 2022 Australian Open saw Stefanos and Stalactites relaunch their limited edition “Tsitsipas Souvlaki” that sees 100 percent of sales going directly to the mental health charity Beyond Blue. 

KDPO announced the partnership to the media and promoted the first-ever appearance of the Stalactites pop-up at the AO, with Stefanos in attendance. It was little surprise to us that Stalactites became the most popular food vendor at the tournament, selling a staggering 14,050 chicken souvlakis. 

Back on Lonsdale Street, the Tsitsipas Souvlaki featuring his favourite ingredients including lamb gyros, tomato, tzatziki, fresh pomegranate, onion, mint, crumbled feta and the all-important chips – raised more than $11,500 for Beyond Blue (and Stefanos generously matching the donation bumped it up to an impressive $23 000). 

The story was featured nationally on Channel Nine (news and the Australian Open broadcast) and in the Herald Sun, Broadsheet, What’s On Melbourne and Neos Kosmos. Opa! 

Images by Arianna Leggiero