Did you know Richmond is home to the Lower Mainland's only Armenian restaurant?
Tucked away in an industrial park on River Road in the Bridgeport neighbourhood is Lamajoun, a family-owned eatery selling Armenian and Georgian cuisine that tastes like home.
Lamajoun, named after the Mediterranean pizza "lahmajoun," began as a bakery in 2011 and expanded into a restaurant in 2017.
Owner and main chef Serge Maranjyan and his wife saw the local demand for lahmajouns and found an opportunity: many local Armenians were getting the popular dish from an Armenian church, which had to get the dish shipped from Montreal.
"People were paying lots of money for shipping. They were getting it from Montreal, not fresh — cold, frozen," Maranjyan explained.
"We can bake fresh, and there's no shipping fees. We can beat the price and have the market of lahmajoun here in Vancouver."
Maranjyan's initial idea was to focus on production and supplying local restaurants with freshly baked lavash bread, but more customers began to show up at the store.
"So more and more people were coming and asking to eat here, even from Seattle... They will drive to eat at our place because some items are unique. You can't find them at other places," he said.
For example, Lamajoun's pide, a bread boat containing cheese and egg, has cured pastrami that gives an Armenian twist to Georgian flavours.
Cooking as an important part of Armenian home life
Prior to starting Lamajoun, Maranjyan was a software developer. He was also an engineer and built the dumbwaiter delivering food to the dining area above the kitchen.
"In Armenia it's common (for people to) cook themselves. Now we have restaurants, but when I was a child, very few people would go to restaurants, so everybody in our family would know how to cook, how to bake," he said.
Maranjyan loves the feeling when his cooking is appreciated, and unlike software development, he gets instant gratification from seeing people enjoy his food straight out of the oven.
"I used to be (a) project manager in (a) software company, but this was my passion, so I turned the passion into business," said Maranjyan.
The most important ingredient and Lamajoun's business philosophy is "love," a lesson Maranjyan learned after training a baker who was "unhappy."
"It is so important when you love what you do and you insert that love in the product so people... they get infected with that happiness, with that good mood," he explained.
"Quality of product is better. People are more appreciative. It's like a magnet that attracts people and makes your food even tastier."
Armenian cuisine is unique
Lamajoun is the only spot specializing in Armenian and Georgian cuisine in the area as the community is relatively smaller compared to Toronto and Montreal, Maranjyan told the News.
However, the cuisine is also familiar to those from the former Soviet Union, including Russians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs and Uzbeks.
"And there's a huge population of those people," said Maranjyan.
But Lamajoun's food is not just for those feeling homesick — the restaurant's loyal customer base now encompasses cultures from near and far.
"We have people from all over the world. Lots of Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, Japanese (and) of course, local people," said Maranjyan.
Lamajoun currently supplies lavash to about 50 restaurants and stores across the Lower Mainland, and Maranjyan and his wife are hoping to expand the business both in terms of production and catering.
He credits the freshness of his dishes and competitive prices to the restaurant's popularity. Customer service is also key, said Maranjyan, who usually takes orders with his wife.
"It's like your baby. You can give it to the babysitter, but it wouldn't be the same result as the mom (taking) care of her child," Maranjyan explained.
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