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News-Leader.com
July 6, 2009
PROFILE: FINE EUROPEAN MARKET
Donna Baxter
Owners: Krasi and Veronika Lukamov
Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Nature of the business:
The aroma of imported Mediterranean spices drifts in the air at Fine
European Market, a spacious, family-owned store with shelves colorfully
stocked with foods from more than 25 countries.
"We start with deli cheeses and cold cuts, hams, sausages and we have
feta cheeses, wines, different pastas and pasta sauces... most all
imported," owner Veronika Lukamov said.
Breads -- baked by a German bakery in Colorado -- include European
rye and wood oven rye (different color and shape of loaf). They also
have chocolate cookies from different parts of the world.
>From Eastern Europe there are specialties like small fish and caviar,
pickled vegetables, tomatoes, vegetable spread and more.
In the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean section are foods like couscous
(small grain pasta) and falafel (made from crushed chickpeas or
garbanzo beans) as well as lavash, a flat bread.
"Armenian people use lavash for bread, but it's more like a tortilla,"
Veronika said.
Mediterranean appetizers include grape leaves and eggplant stuffed
with rice.
Veronika and Krasi make their own special dipping sauce for the
grape leaves.
Customer Ursula Green of Ozark, originally from Germany, stopped in
to buy barrel pickles.
"This is a very nice store... I come here all the time," said Green.
"We want to provide customer service and make customers feel good so
they'll know that we appreciate their business and they'll want to
come back," Veronika said.
She has been collecting e-mail addresses for a newsletter she will
begin sending out soon about the arrival of new foods and specials
as well as holiday gift ideas and recipes.
"We will always have German, English, Italian and other specialty
foods at Christmastime."
The market has three employees in addition to the owners.
How business started: The Lukamovs, both 33, arrived in Springfield
eight years ago from Bulgaria and became U.S. citizens last year.
They saw the need for a place to buy European foods.
"Because there wasn't a store like this in Springfield, it was needed,"
said Veronika. "We always had to go online to buy specialty cheeses,
vegetable spreads and chocolate."
To earn money to start the store, they drove a truck for five
years. Veronika stopped driving when the store opened in August 2008.
"We now own one 18-wheeler," she said. "Krasi still drives it to
bring in the merchandise."
Experience: Veronika received her green card during the five years
she worked on a cruise ship.
"We were invited into the country and I came with my husband," she
said. "We had a very good friend who was in Springfield at the time. We
needed somebody to help us so we came here and ended up staying."
Challenges: The first challenge was starting a business totally new
to them.
"We got on the Internet and studied... started the paperwork... had
to find out where we would get the product from," said Veronika.
They renovated the store building themselves.
"The economy was OK when we started and suddenly it just crashed,"
Veronika said. "The biggest challenge now is to get more customers
through that door and to get more products from importers... we don't
import ourselves."
Goals: An immediate goal is to get a Web site running.
"We also want to get a freezer and the equipment needed for baking the
bread," said Veronika. "In about a month we will start doing baklava
(a desert) and bread baking like French croissants and European
pastries in house."
July 6, 2009
PROFILE: FINE EUROPEAN MARKET
Donna Baxter
Owners: Krasi and Veronika Lukamov
Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Nature of the business:
The aroma of imported Mediterranean spices drifts in the air at Fine
European Market, a spacious, family-owned store with shelves colorfully
stocked with foods from more than 25 countries.
"We start with deli cheeses and cold cuts, hams, sausages and we have
feta cheeses, wines, different pastas and pasta sauces... most all
imported," owner Veronika Lukamov said.
Breads -- baked by a German bakery in Colorado -- include European
rye and wood oven rye (different color and shape of loaf). They also
have chocolate cookies from different parts of the world.
>From Eastern Europe there are specialties like small fish and caviar,
pickled vegetables, tomatoes, vegetable spread and more.
In the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean section are foods like couscous
(small grain pasta) and falafel (made from crushed chickpeas or
garbanzo beans) as well as lavash, a flat bread.
"Armenian people use lavash for bread, but it's more like a tortilla,"
Veronika said.
Mediterranean appetizers include grape leaves and eggplant stuffed
with rice.
Veronika and Krasi make their own special dipping sauce for the
grape leaves.
Customer Ursula Green of Ozark, originally from Germany, stopped in
to buy barrel pickles.
"This is a very nice store... I come here all the time," said Green.
"We want to provide customer service and make customers feel good so
they'll know that we appreciate their business and they'll want to
come back," Veronika said.
She has been collecting e-mail addresses for a newsletter she will
begin sending out soon about the arrival of new foods and specials
as well as holiday gift ideas and recipes.
"We will always have German, English, Italian and other specialty
foods at Christmastime."
The market has three employees in addition to the owners.
How business started: The Lukamovs, both 33, arrived in Springfield
eight years ago from Bulgaria and became U.S. citizens last year.
They saw the need for a place to buy European foods.
"Because there wasn't a store like this in Springfield, it was needed,"
said Veronika. "We always had to go online to buy specialty cheeses,
vegetable spreads and chocolate."
To earn money to start the store, they drove a truck for five
years. Veronika stopped driving when the store opened in August 2008.
"We now own one 18-wheeler," she said. "Krasi still drives it to
bring in the merchandise."
Experience: Veronika received her green card during the five years
she worked on a cruise ship.
"We were invited into the country and I came with my husband," she
said. "We had a very good friend who was in Springfield at the time. We
needed somebody to help us so we came here and ended up staying."
Challenges: The first challenge was starting a business totally new
to them.
"We got on the Internet and studied... started the paperwork... had
to find out where we would get the product from," said Veronika.
They renovated the store building themselves.
"The economy was OK when we started and suddenly it just crashed,"
Veronika said. "The biggest challenge now is to get more customers
through that door and to get more products from importers... we don't
import ourselves."
Goals: An immediate goal is to get a Web site running.
"We also want to get a freezer and the equipment needed for baking the
bread," said Veronika. "In about a month we will start doing baklava
(a desert) and bread baking like French croissants and European
pastries in house."