I have to admit that it is strange that my favourite store as a child was not a toy store but a coffee shop, and more specifically the Markosian coffee shop in the heart of Corfu town.
What do I remember from Markosian? The exhilarating smell of freshly ground coffee and, of course, the infinite amount of candy, of all kinds, but most notably I remember the butterscotch-flavoured ones and the legendary “lobster” candies –very famous at the time. And while my mom was buying her Greek coffee, I was always busy getting my hands on the colourful packages of small, sugary treats or gazing at the pumpkin seeds, the roasted chickpeas and all the other kinds of nuts.
Walking along the bustling, albeit pedestrianized, Georgiou Theotoki Street, entering Markosian’s shop, everything seems still the same, as if the place has entered a time capsule in which everything remains unaffected by the passing decades. I can’t help but point out to the current owner, and grandson of the first one, Leo Markosian, how unchanged his shop looks over time. “The shop is indeed unchanged, but us humans again…” he says with a self-deprecating yet sweet smile. I talk to him about my childhood and teenage memories from the 80s and 90s. “Many people often come to the shop and tell me they used to come here when they were kids, they even bring along their grandchildren. Even Corfiots now living abroad, returning to the island, will stop by at least once and buy their coffee or any of the many other products the shop has to offer,” he says clearly moved.
Besides, the coffee shop itself has a refugee past, as its founder was the Armenian Arsak Markosian, who arrived with his family in Corfu in 1908, after the first population displacements by the Turks. “The ship would reach Corfu first and then Trieste. They disembarked in Corfu and decided to stay because they liked it here, while other members of the family moved on to France and America.” explains the grandson of Leon Markosian and continues the story “Many Armenians have passed through Corfu, not all of them stayed, but the community here was and still is very active. My grandfather spoke 12 languages and helped Armenians who were staying here temporarily on their way to the rest of Europe or during the first period of their permanent settlement on the island by translating.”
The coffee shop was founded in 1908 by Markosian and Tzarougian, who were well versed in the art of coffee as this was their job before they came to Corfu. In the beginning, the coffee shop, which served as a warehouse, was situated a few meters from its current location, where later and for a long time was the famous Boozis’ souvlaki, which has now also been relocated.
The bombing of Corfu town in 1944 resulted in the destruction of a large part of the town and among the buildings affected was the Markosian-Tzarougian coffee shop. Once the two Armenians recovered from the destruction and with the end of World War II, each of them opened their own coffee shop. The coffee shop of Arsak Markosian, whose son, Markos Markosian, was born in 1924, was no longer just a warehouse and was housed in Vrahliotis Square, while in 1971 it moved to its present location.
The imprint of the long history of “Markosian” emerges effortlessly in every corner of the store. As does the smell of freshly ground coffee that greets old acquaintances, families who have grown up with the memory of butterscotch candy, as well as new visitors who walk through the door and immediately feel that this is a welcoming place for everyone. Perhaps it is the legacy of Arsak Markosian, who chose Corfu as his new home and helped those in need to find their own.
