Taste of home: Ukrainian community in P.E.I. opening new store
P.E.I.'s Ukrainian community will celebrate the opening of a new store this weekend that will feature food, beverages and other treats from their home country.
This is the third Soika store, with the first store in Halifax and a second opening earlier this summer in Dartmouth. The shop was created by a couple from Ukraine who wanted to share a taste of home with their Canadian neighbours.
"A lot of people [waited in] the line for three hours to ... purchase from the store," said Alla Lebedeva, project manager for Soika, located in the Kirkwood Mews in Charlottetown.
"It's very popular and we still have a lot of customers every day coming to buy our food."
Soika project manager Alla Lebedeva shows off some of the products in the freezer section at Soika. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)
Lebedeva said soika means "small bird," which in Ukrainian culture symbolizes luck, resourcefulness and the ability to survive in any conditions.
"He's very small and not really strong, but inside he's strong," she said.
Lebedeva said the store is helping to create jobs in Ukraine, which is meaningful to the people working at Soika who have family members still living in the war-torn country.
But the Russian invasion of Ukraine also makes it more difficult to get the goods that will be sold at the store, she said.
"Of course ... in Ukraine for now [there] is not a lot of work," Lebedeva said. "So this is [an opportunity] for them to earn some money, to get some work."
Lebedeva worries about her family in Ukraine every day as the war continues.
Working to open Soika has been a way she can support them, as well as the Canadians who have welcomed Ukrainians since the war started.
Musicians Lucy Blu, centre, and Christopher James will be performing at the grand opening of Soika on Saturday, Aug. 31. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)
"For me it's very important, yes, but I guess it's very important for all of us who live in Canada," Lebedeva said.
"Because since the war [started], we have a lot of support from Canadians. It's very, very nice, and I guess it's important for everyone."
Svitlana Hrynova from Dnipro, Ukraine, moved to Canada a year ago, and will be working at Soika.
"She likes this part of her job because it's not easy to find the job in Canada, especially without the language skills," Hrynova told CBC News through a translator.
"So she really appreciates the owner of the business. He helps not just people here. He gives a lot of work to the people who are still living in Ukraine and can't move or leave."
Hrynova said she looks forward to sharing the food from her country with Islanders, "and she's pretty sure that everyone who [tries] it once will buy this again and again."
This is going to make their home a lot happier. — Stephen Taweel, Kirkwood Mews owner
Soika will offer food from other European countries, including Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The store also has a dairy section, a meat and fish counter, and a small case filled with caviar.
"I think this is going make their home a lot happier," said Stephen Taweel, owner of Kirkwood Mews.
"I mean, you should see them when they come in as a group. They're just so excited and happy to to see this store. They're a good group."
The grand opening of Soika will take place Saturday, Aug. 31 at 10:30 a.m. Lebedeva said there will be live music, an eating contest, and more.
