OR Thessalonikicrossroads of peoples and cultures in the course of history, continues to highlight its multicultural character (and) through its culinary neighborhoods. In addition to the restaurants and street food spots, which often offer versions of international kitchens adapted to local taste, there are spots in the city where authenticity finds the way to express itself more directly. THE Reason for supermarkets and groceries of Thessaloniki with international character.
These small – sometimes larger – shops, scattered in neighborhoods of the city center and peripherally, are not just commercial points. They act as gates of cultural exchange, offering residents and visitors to Thessaloniki the opportunity to approach foreign cuisines, experiment with new materials and understand aspects of daily communities that live and work next to them. Many Thessaloniki combine the image of “ethnic” groceries mainly with Asia, and in particular the Far East. Products from China, South Korea, Japan and Thailand have found their place on store shelves in the center. However, there are many other cultures that have been shaping the city’s multicultural canvas for decades.
Moscow supermarket: Russian roots with Greek heart
On Lagada Street, the Moscow supermarket has been operating since 2001 as a corner of the Russian capital in Thessaloniki. It offers traditional products, as well as cosmetics and items of everyday use from the countries of the former Soviet Union and the former “Eastern Bloc”.
Marina Eleftheriadou, co -owner of the store, tells her story. “We came from Russia in 1990 with my brother. We had a hard time looking for what to deal with. At one point we understood, because there were many who came from the former Soviet Union and have in mind all that they were used to, that it would be good to open such a shop. ” From a small grocery to a narrow arcade of Lagada Street, a venture started by her brother, This shop was converted, thanks to the world’s preference, into a supermarket visited by customers from all over Thessaloniki to get familiar flavors or even try something different. Initially they mainly served Russian -speaking customers, but over the years, the clientele was expanded, including all those who started looking for new tasting pleasures. Now, Moscow supermarket customers are also aware of the names of the products they are rushing to supply, such as pasta, Pelmeni and Hincali pasta.
The atmosphere in the store has a “taste” from the past for many customers, who find food reminiscent of their childhood years. Mrs Eleftheriadou herself estimates that the city of Thessaloniki has always been open to multiculturalism and variety, due to its history, that helps to integrate such businesses.
Supplies are made by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and other countries, While the store also has Greek products. However, the difficulty in introducing Russian products due to duties and geopolitical developments, such as the war of Russia -Ukraine, is a challenge they face, with the demand, but remaining stable.
Baghdad Market: A different Arab bazaar in Thessaloniki
Small Arabic Communities stores around Egnatia and Venizelou Street, scattered throughout the historic center, with flavors not so distant from Mediterranean cuisine. At the beginning of Klisouras Street, near Karavan Sarai, the Baghdad grocery store, which welcomes a wide range of customers, has been in 2020. On his benches you find fresh dates, Eleven different varieties of basmati rice, hand -grounded spices, sweets, tahini, Coffee and tea from Middle East and North African countries, India and many other areas of the globe.
The owner of Ayad Dawoodi came from Iraq twenty years ago. The inspiration for the opening of the business came from his personal love for cooking and the difficulty of finding products of his country and other areas of the Middle East in Thessaloniki.
Despite the initial difficulties, Mr Dawoodi managed to gain the confidence of the Greek public. “At first they had doubts about Arabic products. So we only had customers from Arab countries. Then, when the Greeks saw that the shop is very clean, it has good prices and we are very good with customers, they started to prefer it. Now out of ten people, the seven are Greeks, “says Dawoodi.
With his business, Mr. Dawoodi has paved the way for Thessaloniki to experiment with different flavors And the recipes he himself proposes, in an attempt to create gastronomic bridges. In fact, he calls on the Greek public to discover different flavors. “People need to try, to find out, otherwise there is no way to understand the taste of a different cuisine, you will not know if it is good or bad, if you like it,” he says.
Challenges for Baghdad Market still exist due to difficulties in importing products from countries of origin, with orders often via Europe, especially Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. However, Mr Dawoodi is optimistic about the future and has plans to move the store to a larger space where he intends to add a butcher shop. The innovation of the idea is based on customers’ ability to buy fresh meats and enjoy baked on the spot, thus creating the authentic experience of a traditional Arab grocery.
Mini Mix Markt: Eastern Europe flavors
On Egnatia 27, the Mini Mix Markt is a reference point for communities from the countries of the former Soviet Union and the former Eastern Bloc, as well as tourists of these countries, reminiscent of familiar flavors of their childhood.
The Mix Markt chain started by Germany by Russian immigrants, with the first stores opening in Thessaloniki In 2008, while this store has been operating since 2014. “Our products are manufactured in Germany with Russian recipes, while we have Ukrainian, Czech and Polish products,” said Eleni Atmatzidou, an employee of the store. “The Greeks, in recent years, have preferred them more, it has also helped the internet that enabled them to get to know and taste these flavors.”
Sausages, smoked fish, caviar, Varta and Pelmeni pasta are some of the popular products, with young generations discovering authentic traditional flavors. “Some products on the shelf may have a history of over 50 years old, have people in mind and find them here,” Elias Politides, in charge of the store, explains to RES-EIA.
The plan for the future is the expansion of stores throughout Greece, Even in islands, in order to serve more Russian -speaking immigrants and Greek consumers. “The purpose of these stores is to reach the Greek public more to learn the products and to enter our market too,” Mr. Politides said.
La Vega: Latin American touches
Near the city center, in the “heart” of Navarino Square is a delicacy with authentic flavors from Latin American and Caribbean countries, which has been operating for a year. Owner Cornelia Zografou, with roots from Greece and the Dominican Republic, thought it was time to bring unknown to the Greeks and acquaintances. For the same flavors of her childhood from her mom’s kitchen at the Greek table. As he points out, “my Latin friends, here, where we have grown together, when we are, we said where we will find products and flavors of our country, so the idea came to open the store.”
La Vega includes flavors from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, such as cornmeal for arepas and other snacks, fresh jalapenos peppers, tortillas, chocolates and spices in the gastronomy.
At first the store was mainly based on Latin American customers. Slowly, with advertising through social networks and participating in the city’s food festivals, Greeks began to come, with the clientele now divided into 60%-40%. Favorite products they prefer, both Latinos and Thessaloniki, are the cornmeal, the plane tree, a brother-in-law of banana for recipes, the root of Yuka-Kassava and the Jerva Mate tea.
She believes that Thessaloniki still has to go through the acceptance of diversity in gastronomy, as Thessaloniki still tested new flavors with difficulty. “The truth is that if there was this store in Athens, you have more choices, people are more learned to go out to buy something different, I think things would be much easier. In Thessaloniki, its audience is a little more limited. ” However, when the first test is done, customers return, exploring the kitchens of other Latin America countries, beyond Mexico. As Mrs Zografou points out, “the Greek is quickly thrilled with the philosophy of Latin America”.
Her dream It also focuses on expanding in Athens as well, but with the feeling of an authentic deck that combines the market of products by testing them in colorful recipes cooked with staff love. “I believe that this venture will go very well, because Latin America’s cuisine is close to Greek flavors,” concludes Mrs Zografou.
A city through its flavors
The common element that unites All of the above groceries is the effort To bring the flavors and traditions of foreign communities closer to the Greek public. It is not only a source of materials for cooking, but also places of meeting, exchange and understanding. They reflect the face of a city that remains receptive to the different and is looking for ways to integrate it creatively.
With the help of the internet, of social media and increasing mobility of people, The gastronomic meeting of cultures in Thessaloniki is gaining new dimensions. As store owners point out, the first acquaintance with a product can act as a cultural bridge, throwing the walls of ignorance and prejudice, creating communities through flavors. And as flavors from all over the world fill the grocery shelves, the Thessaloniki table grows to fit more and more.