How to open a restaurant in the bazaar

First look around for a location.

Tamara, our host, selected a nice restaurant, beautifully situated by the river and part of a complex of eating places owned by two brothers. We could use part of their kitchen and figure out the dinning area. We met there for tea on the first day with Shaarbek and Amanda who were visiting from Bishkek.

Despite being centrally located, it was out of the main thoroughfares and a bit isolated, so Amanda and Jerome went for a little tour of the vicinity and by chance located an empty restaurant, right next to the vegetable vendors in the thick of the old market.

Find an ally.

Nina, whom we met in Bishkek, gave us the name of a friend of hers,Almaz who lives in Osh and is passionate about his city and its culture. He takes us on a tour of the market and we end up hanging out with him for a couple of days, learning about food, local customs and talking about our project and how best to go about it. Later he will interview us for the local newspaper.

where do we start ?

make a deal

get the keys

Rakhmanberdy is a Hadj, meaning he made the pilgrimage to Meccah and follows religious precepts.

We arrived in Osh during Ramadan and this is why the restaurant is closed.

He has run this place for 2 years, serving lunch, mostly to vendors of the surrounding food market. He gave us the keys and told us that he will be around to help cook and bring in some customers. This is great news to us; we will be able to learn directly about local cooking but more importantly he will become a collaborator in the project.

Later he will make Oromo.

Move in

Amanda Eicher is an artist living in the bay area. She is working with children at the B’ art center in Bishkek for her residency with the Global Art Lab.

Almaz Kalet is a journalist leaving in Osh with his wife and their two children.

Shaarbek Amankul is an artist and runs the B’art center in Bishkek.