From Cafés in Yerevan to Congressional Seats in Illinois
Inside a modestly-sized café on Amiryan Street in downtown Yerevan, Westerners tinker away on tiny laptops. Workers from a local non-profit hash out the morning gossip. Young people from the city’s bearded creative class dash in and out, reveling in the morning rush. The bitter aroma of coffee grinds lingers heavily in the air. And an entire wall is decorated, shrine-like, with locally-produced goods for sale: trinkets made ethically by women in villages; all-natural, herbal soaps; and—the ultimate rarity—locally grown quinoa.
Armenians have always loved their surj (coffee), but the phenomenon of coffee shops doubling as socially responsible hubs in the community is a fairly recent trend. And it all started with a little café called The Green Bean.
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We believe that mr Bequette will win .good luck.we will support you.
all the way .Armenians vote for congress to Beguette
Excellent and informative article.
The Bequette-Ghaplanyan couple’s departure from Armenia is one of our biggest losses, and, as I can see in this article, an excellent gain for the US.
I appreciate this statement: “Of the 1,192 signatures Bequette’s campaign gathered, only 823 were declared valid in the end. That sounds like a lot of invalid signatures. But Ghaplanyan, defending their situation, says the discrepancy is a result of too-frequently “purged” voters’ lists and inaccurate addresses. It happens a lot, she says, as voters don’t always stay in the same place for a long time—particularly in low-income areas.”
It is not only in Armenia that voters’ lists are somehow, out of date… Not only in Armenia that people migrate…
I would like to encourage any Armenian living in Bequette’s district to support his candidacy. Ms Ghaplanyan was one of few opposition members in Armenia who did not exaggerate the extent of irregularities in the election process in Armenia and she and her husband deserve all our support.
Loved this article, something fresh and new!!!
I actually love coffee (American-style with lots of cream); however, up to now, I haven’t been able to find a coffee house in Yerevan which serves good American-style coffee.
I haven’t been to the Green Bean, so I will certainly take it upon myself to visit this particular establishment and see what their coffee is all about. Since I’m close to Amiryan St., I’ll definitely try the Green Bean over there, which is on the same street as SAS grocery store, over on the corner of Amiryan and Mashtots.