Published: 10/26/2023 12:49:38 AM
GREENFIELD — With the opening of International Supermarket on Main Street, one western Massachusetts man is bringing a taste of his home country to the people of Franklin County.
“I was planning a long time ago to open a supermarket, but I couldn’t find the right place,” said owner Ruvim Rakhubenko. “I have a lot of friends here from Moldova, where I’m originally from, and I know there’s no store like this here.”
International Supermarket — which offers customers a selection of Eastern European candy and pastries, jams and honey, beverages, frozen foods, deli products and pre-packaged items such as pasta — opened its doors at 280 Main St. on Wednesday afternoon with a grand opening celebration attended by family members, friends and city employees. The store’s first customers were welcomed with a sample of deli meats, cheese, bread and chocolates.
The store, which Rakhubenko is leasing the space for, neighbors Rise Above Bakery and the former Greenfield Community College Downtown Center. Ken’s Tax Prep previously occupied the space.
Now a resident of West Springfield, Rakhubenko said he moved to the United States from Moldova in 2000. Prior to this venture, he managed a transportation company, he said. Opening a grocery store, however, was something he had wanted to do since immigrating to the United States.
“I know there’s no store like this here,” he said of the Greenfield area.
With the help of Cohn & Company Real Estate, Rakhubenko secured the space at 280 Main St. He said he was impressed by the foot traffic Main Street provided, and that the store itself “was not too big, not too small.”
“It was a nice place and I thought, ‘Let’s try,’” he said.
The store sells imported goods from Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Poland and Lithuania.
For now, Rakhubenko will work alongside his brother and sister. In the future, he said he may take on additional employees.
International Supermarket will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.
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