By: Riley Manion

When it comes to cultural food, real, traditional ingredients are few and far between, especially in North Carolina. But at the Euro Deli Mart, located off Hickory Ridge Drive in Greensboro, NC, residents of the triad are given a taste of Eastern Europe.

Euro Deli Mart is a family-owned deli and market that opened in 2011, offering a variety of different foods from different cultures, ranging from Poland to Ukraine to Russia. Malgorzada Kobus opened the store alongside a good friend with efforts to give people from all over Eastern Europe the perfect place to get all types of foods they grew up with.

After just five years, Kobus’ friend gave her an ul<matum. She would either buy the store off him, or he would sell it. Kobus was determined to keep the triad’s cultural taste buds sa<sfied, so she bought it, and from that point on, she has been the sole owner of the store.

“I had to keep bringing my culture’s food and other cultures’ foods. I knew I had to stay open and I loved what I was doing so there was no question” Kobus said.

Kobus even says there are a variety of different products she offers that you can’t get at your local Harris Teeter or Food Lion, one of the most popular being blood sausage. This sausage is a very popular meat in Eastern Europe and Kobus wanted to make sure this was a feature item at her deli.

Cultural food markets like Euro Deli Mart are crucial in the crossing of cultures and bringing unique flavors to plates in North Carolina. A main difference though between this market and your local grocery store? The prices.

Kobus prides herself on offering real European products and ingredients for a low price, making it affordable for all people who come into her shop. For example, a small container of paprika can get as expensive as eight dollars at a grocery store, but for a pack of traditional Hungarian paprika at this market, it costs only two dollars.

Other products include European chocolates, Polish meats, a large variety of cheeses, Italian pastas and everything else in between. No matter what country you are looking to get products from, Kobus has it all and says that these items get shipped directly from European countries to her distributors, so she has a stocked store weekly.

Kobus isn’t stingy with her products either and wants all her customers to taste why true European food tastes so much different, and arguably better than what is offered here in America.

“I just want people to come and check it out. I’m giving free samples” Kobus said excitedly. “Come during lunch and sample anything from meats to cheeses”.

The Euro Deli Mart is one amongst many cultural markets in the area that offer a perfect place for people to find what they’ve been missing since leaving their home country. Olga Teren<eva has been a loyal customer for years and says that she has found the perfect place to get all the products she had when she was younger.

“There is nothing better than the food here. I had all this food when I was a li`le girl and to have it here, all the same things, reminds me so much of home” Terentieva said.

Not only is she able to find true Russian food, but she has found a true sense of home with the workers, and specifically the owner. Terentieva said there are other places she can go to find some of her tradition Russian food, such as markets in Charlotte or Raleigh, but there is no other store that provides the service and the kindness that Kobus provides every time she stops in the market.

Kobus said that one of her employees came from Ukraine just four months ago and was able to find a comfor<ng place at Euro Deli Mart to both work and find products from her home country.

Kobus felt strongly that it’s not just about the products she sells but about the community feel that she offers. She wanted to give people what she couldn’t find much of in the area. No ma`er if someone is from Ukraine, Poland, or Russia, Kobus has something that everyone will love.

It’s clear that the Euro Deli Mart offers more than just fancy snacks and European meats. Kobus and all her workers make it a priority for all their customers, not matter what country they are from, to feel like they are truly getting a taste of home, even though they are 5,000 miles from where they grew up.