Russians Are Coming ...For Food

When we succumbed to skillful advertising by a group of industrious Russian guys, greatly accelerating their push towards their American Dream, we ended up in Palm Coast, FL. There were 46 Russian families, and we all knew each other.

We were all trying to survive in laid back Florida, with little or no jobs in a bedroom community of Palm Coast, which was growing fast, and more an more Russians were coming...

The idea of a Russian Food store was a tempting one, and it was in the air. First attempts started from making and selling food out of the garages. People were making pelmeni and were selling them to other Russians. Then guys put a freezer in the garage and brought from New York a small order of Russian goodies to try. It was all by word of mouth, somebody calls you and tells you that they had the delivery, and you go and buy what you need, and eventually they transitioned to renting the space for a store, and that’s how it all started here in Flagler/Palm Coast.

If I remember correctly, 2 stores opened their doors practically at the same time, then the number quickly doubled, and then a usual story of survival and closing… But one of the first two is still here in Flagler County, one block from the beach. More stable than ever. The owners not only survived, but grew the business, added space, became confident entrepreneurs, and made it a success. I do not know how many Russian stores are now in Flagler. I know only one. We call it “Volodya’s Store”. Volodya is the owner’s name. He and his wife Lyuda have been working there for the last 16-17 years. They are originally from the Ukraine. Worrying about the events there, worrying about the family members in the conflict zone.

The food comes from New York, Chicago, Ukraine and Russia. I am what I call a “well adjusted immigrant” and do not have much of a nostalgia for anything, and my wife is the same way, but we do like certain food, and whenever we are in Flagler/Palm Coast, which is about 30 miles north of Daytona, we visit the store. Many other Volodya’s customers are quite nostalgic, and buy there regularly. He is also getting a good share of other customers from Eastern Europe: Czech, Hungarians, polish people…

Volodya (a friendly variant of Vladimir) and Lyuda seem to know everybody by name. We used to live in Palm Coast, and when we come to the store we would ask about people we knew and get the update. News spread fast here. You do not ask how, it is how things are. Even if you leave Palm Coast and move to Daytona, you are under the radar.

They are to go people if you need help, translation, moving, lawn mowing, opening the business, and even real estate, as they know everybody. They have a book with names and phone numbers, and that’s how we get back in contact with people we used to know.

There is little glory in this business. It is brutal. 7 days a week, 365 days, long hours, standing on your feet, unloading, packing… But there are, probably, many other brutal businesses out there. You do what you got to do.

This is life.

P.S. This is added later. I did not think that some of my readers may be curious enough to pay Volodya a visit. They are steps from the famous Flagler pier: