TimesDispatch.com
Tuesday, Mar. 8, 2005

Grounded in Richmond

Coffee-shop owner traveled the world, then landed in West End to build a
business and a family

BY MELANIE MAYHEW

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 8, 2005

Owner Jerry Epstein strives for eclecticism and comfort in his shop, Grove
Avenue Coffee and Tea.

MARK GORMUS/TIMES-DISPATCH

He speaks three languages, which he perfected while traveling or living in
37 countries.

And although he’s fluent in Spanish, Russian and his native English, one
language prevails at his coffee shop in the West End: “fluent delicious.”

Jerry Epstein, the owner of Grove Avenue Coffee and Tea, strives for
eclecticism and comfort in his shop and in his life.

Dog-eared children’s books and stacks of magazines chaotically crowd the
windows of his shop, leaving little room for the playfully scrawled, “fluent
delicious spoken here,” a phrase that Epstein penned to indicate that his
food speaks for itself.

A clash of blue, mustard-yellow and maroon paint decorates the shop’s
facade; inside, lime- and clementine-colored stripes race down two walls and
contrast with the purple-blue of the opposing walls. Each blink of the eye
offers a new image, images that deny the possibility that this is a
cookie-cutter corporate coffee shop.

The goal of Grove Avenue Coffee and Tea is to be like “everyone’s living
room on Sunday,” said Epstein, balancing a red-and-green espresso cup in his
hand. The mismatched furniture and a smattering of local art pieces reflect
Epstein’s homegrown, low-key approach.

A bumper sticker on his truck reads, “Friends don’t let friends drink
Starbucks.”

Epstein’s peculiar personality, as his employ PROFILE ees attest, is perhaps
the greatest contribution to the shop’s ambiance.

“Jerry is eccentric,” said Hali Emminger, a 21-year-old Virginia
Commonwealth University student and one of Epstein’s four part-time
employees, “and he’s highly caffeinated. He’s in a lot of places at once,
he’s very perky and is a real people person. He makes getting coffee here a
personal experience.”

The 59-year-old world traveler, a self-described comic, knows most of his
customers by name. When they greet him with, “Hi, how are you?” Epstein
answers, “I wish I was.”

He balances his off-beat humor with a commitment to customer satisfaction, a
goal that began years before he moved from Armenia to the United States in
1997.

Epstein, a native of Denver, worked abroad for several decades after earning
an accounting degree from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn.

A series of jobs in production and quality control in the garment industry
took him to 15 countries where he learned about the importance of the
service economy. After several decades in Europe, and with a toddler and
then-wife, he decided to return to America.

The family flew to California and then drove cross-country. North Carolina
and its garment industry was the family’s original destination. Epstein, who
had previously lived in Richmond, decided that the family should settle in
the city because of its cultural and geographical offerings.

“Of all the places I’ve lived, I wanted to be here,” Epstein said. “I wanted
my daughter to grow up in the U.S. and for her to have some of the
experiences I had.”

His now 8-year-old daughter, Emily, is the center of his life. Epstein
begins preparing the shop’s food at 2:30 a.m.; he arrives home about 2 p.m.
to meet his daughter at the bus, a commitment he refuses to break.

Renting the coffee shop, which was then owned by someone else, was a way for
Epstein to secure a place in the Richmond community and take a break from
constant, tiresome travel, he said.

“I had to do something that would tie me here,” he said. “After you’ve
traveled all of your life, you better get your roots and tie yourself down.”

He knew nothing about running a coffee shop, but he knew everything about
coffee.

He had sampled coffee in 37 different countries. The difference was the
service that accompanied the coffee in the United States, he said.

“I always heard that the U.S. had a service economy, but I couldn’t find the
service,” Epstein said.

He wants his customers to get a good value at his shop, Epstein said.

Other coffee shops “give you a vision,” he said. “When you bite into me,
I’ve given you the product.”

Epstein frequently changes his menu, yet keeps a number of items that are
particularly popular. The “Eggspresso” is a blend of two eggs and Parmesan,
provolone, Asiago and Romano cheeses. Epstein steams the eggs and cheese
using the shop’s espresso machine, creating a spongy soufflé that’s in
constant demand, he said.

Customers also fill up on chai tea and lattes.

The quality of these products and the laid-back, spunky atmosphere keep Dana
Lascu coming back to the cozy shop, which features local music on the
weekends.

“It’s really quite a fun place and on the weekends, it’s really quite a
dynamic place,” said Lascu, 45, chairwoman of the University of Richmond
marketing department. She and her husband, who live in the Fan District,
frequently bring their two boys to the shop. “It’s more of what I would
expect to find in the Fan than here.”

After traveling around the world for the past few decades, Epstein has
cultivated an optimistic outlook.

“I’ve seen people come out of mud-floored places, wash their bodies at a
central hose in a village, and then go dancing and smile. In Vietnam, I saw
a girl on a crutch who was hobbling along with a smile on her face,” said
Epstein, who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. “And I’ve
seen people who are colder than hell in some countries offer me a cup of
tea.

“If they can be optimistic, so can I.”

Any ideas? Staff writer Melanie Mayhew can be reached at (804) 649-6495 or
[email protected]

–Boundary_(ID_huAUudzaV7IQag0tK0RDcw)–

UzReport.com

CENTRAL ASIAN, SOUTH CAUCASIAN AGRICULTURE SPECIALISTS MEET IN TURKMENISTAN

UzReport.com [12:10] 08.03.2005

The Eighth regional meeting of the agricultural research centre in arid
areas of Central Asia and South Caucasus was held in Ashkhabad,
Turkmenistan.

Selectionists of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia,
Tajikistan, Armenia and Turkmenistan as well as famous agriculture
specialists attended the meeting, AzerTaj reported.

The meeting focused on the questions of agriculture development, rational
use of soil and water resources.

TV hosts not all good examples
By Remo Alexandri

Glendale News Press
Published March 7, 2005

There are some things that non-Armenians could not appreciate about
the Armenians living in Glendale. So, I decided to share some funny
but little-known facts about Glendale’s Armenians. This could be
revealing and very appropriate in this election season. I hope you
would also share your inner-circle stories, which are hidden from
the general public.

One of the funniest categories that I like to bring to your attention
is the peculiar Armenian-Glendalian talk-show industry, which has
become a distinguished genre in the world of talk-show business, and a
unique cultural feature in Glendale. Some of these shows attract tens
of thousands of people every morning, afternoon, night and even past
midnight. But I’d like to concentrate on the crown-jewels of these
shows — the sociopolitical talk shows, which are the strangest in
the world.

advertisement For the most part, these shows are very similar. Most of
them are conducted in small studios in the Glendale area. For the most
part, the host is not prepared and does not use any sort of notes. A
host doesn’t need to have any credentials in order to become the
absolute authority on any topic. The host or the participants can claim
outrageous things without any supportive, legitimate arguments. The
only thing needed in order to push an argument is a particular jest,
which is to look grim and serious and to act like a mythical, wise
chieftain who knows everything just because of who he is.

About a year ago, in one of these “serious” patriotic talk shows,
the host announced that he had a very important guest who happened
to be a composer. He said the show wouldn’t be about the guest’s
accomplishments, but about a new movement, led by the distinguished
guest, to save Armenians’ glorious past from being undermined by
the dark forces of the world. One of the concerns was the seal of
the independent republic of Armenia. They announced that they had
discovered a serious conspiracy. That was, the new seal didn’t contain
Mt. Ararat, and most importantly, Noah’s Ark on its top.

I want to remind you that this was a live show. They were very proud
of their genius in unraveling this evil conspiracy. Then, there were
callers who shared the concerns of our super-patriots and thanked
them for educating people. Almost at the end of the show, a caller
said he had a large picture of the current seal, and he had noticed
that, actually, Mt. Ararat and Noah’s Ark were in the center of the
current seal, and it would be easily missed if you happened to have
a small picture or copy of it.

Our “great leader” and the host hadn’t even bothered themselves to at
least take a closer look at the seal before making such outrageous,
reckless claims on a live television show. They mumbled a little bit,
and the host strangely enough burst out at the caller, shouting that
despite the fact they had made a small factual mistake in the case
of the seal, still, the conspiracy warning was legitimate, and the
caller had to appreciate him and his distinguished guest.

However, the most outrageously funny (and on the same hand worrisome)
live talk shows are the ones that discuss local politics, especially
in this unusually hot upcoming local election. It is very normal, for
example, for a host to announce that he has been living in Glendale
for 20, 30 or 40 years, and he has no clue about local politics, but
he just knows what is right (translation: I am a mythical chieftain
who happens to know everything)! Then there are these opportunist
“medical doctors” whose livelihood is dependent, for the most part, on
how many elderly people they could lure to their offices for imaginary
sicknesses. One sits next to a candidate and asks phony questions about
Section 8 to imply how much he cares for his “patients,” but not,
for sure, for the noble purpose of democracy. Another one, without
any hesitation, prescribes a split vote of “two Americans!” and “two
Armenians!” So, we could quiet things down! It does not matter what
the candidates’ profiles are, their experiences and all the other
things — all the things that a responsible voter takes into serious
consideration before casting a vote.

It is sad that some people who’ve got the privilege of playing a
positive role in the democratization of the Armenian community still
think of an election as a mere formality, a game (similar to their
previous experiences)! These are, unfortunately, some of the sad
factors in the politics of Glendale.

I hope we, as the people of Glendale, could discuss politics not
just within our own communities, but with our different neighbors
and the community at large. This would be the only way to overcome
the ridiculous stereotypes and stereotype lovers.

Unfortunately, the political players (elected or appointed) at local
or state levels, for their own short-term interests, encourage
the undemocratic, crude, bossy political culture of the Armenian
community by taking these gadflies and other self-claimed chieftains
too seriously.

We, as a community, are too generous in recognizing some of these
illiterate and out-of-touch gadflies and chieftains as our leaders
and political experts. We deserve better ones.

* REMO ALEXANDRI is a resident of Glendale.

Glendale News Press
Published March 7, 2005
Finish accomplished
By Robert Chacon, News-Press and Leader

They jogged, walked and rolled across the finish line hours behind
the elite runners of the race, but for locals who participated in
the 20th annual Los Angeles Marathon, finishing was the goal.

“I can’t believe I haven’t passed out yet,” said Spencer Belko,
an eighth-grader at Rosemont Middle School who ran with 13 other
classmates in the event, after crossing the finish line 6 hours 2
minutes after he began. “Even though it was hotter last year, for
some reason this year was much more difficult for me.”

Aside from the students who ran in the marathon, there was a La
Crescenta woman who was bouncing back from major surgery, a La Cañada
Flintridge business owner, and a double amputee representing a Glendale
group that competed in the wheelchair portion of the race.

“She fell out of her chair during the race, but one of the spectators
helped her out,” said Lori Sivazlian about Greta Khndzrtsyan, who lost
both her legs in an earthquake in Armenia 17 years ago. Khndzrtsyan,
17, finished the 26.2 mile course in 3 hours, 15 minutes, Sivazlian
said.

Sivazlian is a board member of Pyunic, a Glendale-based organization
that provides financial and medical assistance to disabled people in
Armenia. Her group sponsored Khndzrtsyan’s participation in the race.

More than 25,000 people ran in this year’s marathon. Mark Saina of
Kenya won the race in 2 hours, 9 minutes, and Russian Lyubov Denisova
won the women’s division in 2 hours, 26 minutes.

Along the way, runners experienced sore feet, tense backs, painful
knees and doubt about finishing.

La Crescenta resident Joann Norris, 45, experienced her greatest
challenge at mile 19, when her Apple iPod ran out of batteries. The
R&B music she was listening to kept her legs going, she said.

She has overcome greater obstacles, however. Two years ago, she
weighed 247 pounds, but she had a gastric bypass procedure in June of
2003. Since then she has lost more than 100 pounds and has accomplished
one of her greatest feats — finishing a marathon without walking. She
crossed the finish line in 5 hours, 12 minutes.

She hit a wall at mile 24, she said, but a training buddy ran alongside
her and helped her finish. Three hours after finishing the race,
she was at a local Mexican restaurant, drinking margaritas and eating
with a group of friends.

“I have been through a lot of changes in the past year,” she said. “I
was just so happy to finish and accomplish my goal.”

Just finishing the race indicates greater accomplishments in the
future, local runners said.

“Finishing this race means that I can basically accomplish anything
if I just keep at it,” eighth-grader Spencer Belko said.

–Boundary_(ID_m9PC9f6SxtN0PoTqCBIiUw)–

PanArmenian News
March 5 2005

UNITED STATES DO NOT PLAN A ~SCOLOURED REVOLUTION~T IN YEREVAN

It looks like Armenian is not included in the list of states not
suitable for Washington.

In the nearest future, US Congress will consider the draft
legislation introduced by senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman.
The draft presupposes rendering support to democratic movements in
developing countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. The document is
called ~SAdvance democracy act~T. According to political
correspondents, approval of the legislation will promote the export
of ~Svelvet revolutions~T from Ukraine and Georgia to other CIS
countries. If approved, the initiative of McCain and Lieberman will
also instill confidence in Armenian oppositionists.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In Russia the legislation draft was viewed as a
sanction of US administration to interfere in the internal policy of
other states. The authors of the document do not conceal that their
initiative is mainly aimed at protecting the political interests of
Unites States and not the civil rights of the people of countries
that are considered undemocratic by Washington. «The promotion of
democracy and freedom is simply inseparable from the long term
security of the United States,” said Senator McCain. «When the
security of New York or Washington or California depends in part of
the degree on freedom in Riyadh or Baghdad or Cairo, we must promote
democracy building and society improvement in those countries~T, John
McCain stated. It is quite easy to guess what the senator implies by
saying ~Ssociety improvement~T because he mentions Georgia, Ukraine,
Iraq and Palestinian autonomy as countries where Americans managed to
achieve ~Simprovement~T.

The ~SAdvance democracy act~T supposes allocation of 300 million
dollars for the ~Ssupport to democracy abroad~T. It is planned to
establish in Washington a special structure aimed at coordinating
~Sdemocracy producing~T in developing countries. The ~Soffice of
Democracy Movements and Transitions at the State Department~T will be
in charge for supporting regimes that are convenient for the USA.
Separate ~SRegional Democracy Hubs~T are planned to be established at
American embassies in all those countries that Americans consider
undemocratic. Up to now the role of those structures has been carried
out locally by the departments of US National democratic institute.
Such a department is functioning also in Yerevan and actively
cooperates with more ~Sprogressive~T oppositional parties. After the
arrival of new specialists from Washington the tactics of
~Sinstruction~T of Armenian oppositionists will possibly change.

It is likely that the leader of oppositional ~SJustice~T bloc Stepan
Demirchyan took into account the initiative of Lieberman and McCain
mentioning about his readiness to cooperate with the US National
democratic institute on his Tuesday press conference. Maybe this is a
peculiar signal about the ability of ~SJustice~T bloc to justify the
expectations of Americans. After all 300 millions is not a small sum
and even the hundredth part of that sum will be enough for supporting
~Svelvet revolutions~T that are so much spoken of by Armenian
oppositionists.

However, there are no grounds to suppose that Armenia is one of those
countries ~Sdemocratization~T of which is among the priority tasks of
United States. The authors of the legislation clearly specify in what
countries they want to ~Sintroduce democracy~T. In his speech at the
Senate Joseph Lieberman only mentioned that in the world there are at
least 45 countries that really need to learn from the West what
democracy is. It is likely that the matter concerns the list made by
the international ~SFreedom House~T organization. Armenia is not
included in that list. From CIS countries there are only Russia,
Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

It seems that the answer to the question where the USA is going to
stir up ~Svelvet revolutions~T should be sought in the talk between
George Bush and the leader of Ukrainian revolutionists Vladislav
Kaskiv. At the end of the conversation the leader of all-Ukrainian
~SPora~T non-governmental organization that brought Victor Yushenko to
power said that the US President has blessed him to create an expert
center for supporting democratic movements in neighboring countries ~V
Russia, Byelorussia, Moldova and Azerbaijan. Armenia was not
mentioned. It should noticed that after the meeting of Bush and
Kaskiv ~SPora~T organization sent letters to presidents of several CIS
countries warning about upcoming ~Sorange revolutions~T. In the cabinet
of Ilham Aliev the letter spread panic and Kaskiv was immediately
announced persona non grata in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile the President of
Armenia has nothing to worry about since he has not received any
letters from Kiev…

–Boundary_(ID_fvxvTP0RTfNVKKFza03X1A)–

PanArmenian News
March 7 2005

LATVIA TO SHARE EXPERIENCE OF EUROINTEGRATION AND REFORM CONDUCTION
WITH ARMENIA

07.03.2005 05:08

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Latvia is going to share with Armenia its experience
in eurointegration and conduction of reforms. These issues will be
discussed during the visit of Latvian Saeima Speaker Ingrida Udre
to Yerevan. The parties are expected to discuss a wide range of
issues, including consolidation of cooperation and contacts between
the parliamentarians, regional cooperation and urgent international
issues. The Latvian and Armenian parliamentary Commissions on European
Affairs are also planning to sign a memorandum on cooperation.

PanArmenian News
March 7 2005

ARMENIA READY FOR CLOSE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE

07.03.2005 04:14

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is ready for close military cooperation
with Ukraine, Secretary of the Security Council under the Armenian
President, Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsian during the
meeting with newly appointed Ukrainian military attaché, lieutenant
colonel Dmitry Nikitishin. Serge Sargsian congratulated Dmitry
Nikitishin with assuming the post and wished him every success.
During the meeting the parties touched upon the issues regarding the
regional security as well as the prospects of the Armenian-Ukrainian
relations. The Armenian Defense Minister expressed readiness for the
close military cooperation with Ukraine. In his turn Nikitishin
assured that he will do his best to contribute to the development of
the Armenian-Ukrainian military ties. To note, Ukraine~Rs Ambassador
Vladimir Tyaglo was also present at the meeting.

–Boundary_(ID_WmXKEJIlxpYUnODb2fIA6Q)–

Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, In Fine Form
by Tim Page, Washington Post Staff Writer

The Washington Post
March 7, 2005 Monday
Final Edition

Isabel Bayrakdarian has a high, bright soprano voice that she employs
with a lithe and winning energy; her Friday night recital at the
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, sponsored by the Vocal Arts Society,
had much to commend it.

The Armenian Canadian’s program began with Manuel de Falla’s
“Seven Popular Spanish Songs” — a favorite offering of the late
Spanish soprano Victoria de los Angeles, who died earlier this year.
Bayrakdarian brought a nice variety of mood to these simple, sturdy
pieces: “Jota” stole the show, as it usually does, with its exciting
reiterations that ebb and flow in volume and intensity as the song
progresses.

Samuel Barber assembled his “Hermit Songs” from poems, diary entries
and marginalia dating from the 8th through the 13th centuries.
Bayrakdarian sang with a minimum of vibrato (indeed, at times her voice
sounded almost boyish, befitting the monastic origin of the texts)
and a keen attention to emotional nuance. Barber was not necessarily
a great composer, but he was, most likely, the most immaculate of
American musical craftsmen. Every note in his work is there for a
reason, and some of the “Hermit Songs” have the concentrated intensity
of haiku. Bayrakdarian managed to give each song its individual due,
while working it into a larger totality.

A selection of songs by Rossini (including the familiar “La Danza”)
followed intermission and — for this listener, at least — provided
the evening’s greatest pleasures. The music is wonderful — warm,
inventive, full of humor and pathos — and Bayrakdarian gave it her
all, with teasing wit and expansive lyricism.

Thereafter, the evening’s uncommonly sensitive pianist, Warren Jones,
played a selection from Liszt’s “Annees de Pelerinage.” Jones has
exactly the right approach for Liszt, who can so easily sound windy,
rhetorical and pretentious. Instead, Jones simply sat down and let
the music happen, as if he were relaying an anecdote in the most
direct and straightforward language. Rarely has this composer seemed
so friendly and confidential.

Bayrakdarian then took the stage to close the evening with a selection
of four songs by Tchaikovsky — beautiful music, sung with abundant
feeling. My only general complaint about her work on Friday would be
that she seemed to overcompensate for a voice that is not naturally
very large by singing quite loudly — too loudly, on occasion, for
the intimacy of the Terrace Theater. Still, she is an artist and
deserves her following.

Top Azeri official labels homeland a “powder-keg” for disasters

Agence France Presse — English
March 7, 2005 Monday 1:33 PM GMT

BAKU, March 7 2005 — Azerbaijan’s deputy prime minister called
the former Soviet republic a “powder-keg” for natural and man-made
disasters at a seminar devoted to emergency issues on Monday.

“Everyone knows Azerbaijan is sitting on a powder-keg,” Deputy Prime
Minister Abid Sharifov told a seminar hosted by the French embassy in
Baku before listing a number of high risk areas in the oil-rich region.

“All parts of Azerbaijan are considered to be seismically active …
there is a risk of landslides in many zones and any moment can turn
into a tragedy,” Sharifov said adding that 50 percent of the nation’s
territory is at high flood risk.

In the oil boom that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union the
Azeri capital has become home to a multitude of high-rise buildings,
raising concerns that shoddy workmanship and poor land survey could
lead to their collapse in an earthquake or a land slide.

Many of the buildings had not been built when a medium level earthquake
struck the city in 2000, causing the destruction of a number of
older buildings.

Earlier this year a neighborhood on a ridge in Baku had to be evacuated
when large cracks in the asphalt showed that it had begun sliding
down a precipice.

Azerbaijan is also in danger of terrorist attacks at the hands of its
neighbor Armenia – with which it is still technically at war over the
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave – targeting the US-backed BTC oil pipeline
scheduled to go online later this year, Sharifov said.

“With such a neighbor we are constantly under threat of terrorist
attack,” Sharifov said.

The Caspian nation is unprepared for a chemical disaster too, in case
of an accident or an attack “all we have are gas masks,” Sharifov said.

No single body coordinates disaster emergency efforts in Azerbaijan,
prompting Sharifov to call for the creation of an emergency situations
ministry or agency.

Honest George
By John McCaslin, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Washington Times
March 7, 2005 Monday

“The Wounded Warrior,” a new documentary produced by X-Back Pictures,
presents a strong parallel between the visions of Abraham Lincoln and
George W. Bush.

According to director Yervand Kochar, grandson of
communist-persecuted Armenian artist Yervand Kochar Sr., the film
proves Lincoln was the first president to lay down the doctrine of
spreading freedom throughout the world as a means for national
defense – “the doctrine known and revived today as the ‘Bush
Doctrine.’ ”

By a strange twist of destiny, the filmmaker adds, Lincoln expressed
his line of thinking on September 11, 1858.

Finally, the docudrama reminds that Lincoln was one of the most
despised presidents, was falsely accused of stealing elections,
divided and dragged the country in a war over the economy and
tariffs, and was proclaimed a social tyrant who violated the
Constitution and civil liberties.