European Tastees Marks 20 Years as Utah’s Destination for Old World Flavors

European Tastees celebrates two decades in Utah, growing from a family dream into a market known for Old World flavors, immigrant heritage, and a new expansion filled with global goods.

Nicole Anderson

December 10, 2025

The scent of freshly baked pastries mingles with the spice of faraway lands inside European Tastees, a market that feels like stepping into another world. It’s a place where generations of hard work and heritage come together, part family legacy, part cultural bridge, and a full celebration of flavor from across the globe.

The story of European Tastees begins in the early 1990s, when Ruzan and Arthur Makian, along with their daughter, left their home in Armenia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. With little more than determination, they began the long journey of rebuilding a life from scratch. After a short stay with family friends in New Mexico, the Makians moved to Los Angeles, where they lived for about six years before finally settling in Salt Lake City in 1997.

Utah quickly became home for the family and the dream they shared. In 2005, Ruzan and Arthur opened European Tastees, bringing with them the tastes and traditions they missed most from Armenia and Eastern Europe. Their vision was simple: to create a place where people could find the foods that reminded them of home, and where locals could discover new flavors from across the world.

Now, twenty years later, that vision continues to grow under the leadership of their son, Andrew Makian. At just 30 years old, Makian has taken the reins with pride and purpose, honoring his parents’ legacy while infusing it with fresh energy and modern ideas.

“When you think about it,” Makian says, “my parents were my age — their early thirties — when they came here. They didn’t speak the language, didn’t know the culture, and started from zero. That kind of bravery is something I think about every day.”

That immigrant spirit, bold, hardworking, and hopeful, is what continues to drive European Tastees forward.

This November marks a major milestone for the Makians. European Tastees celebrated its 20th anniversary on July 5th, and Makian is preparing to double the size of the store. The new expansion will include an even wider range of European products, along with new features that make the market an even more inviting destination.

Shoppers can look forward to a new kitchen section stocked with European cookware, coffee mugs, and home goods, as well as a coffee and sandwich bar featuring grab-and-go options and a cozy seating area. The expansion will also introduce an even broader variety of imported goods from Poland, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine, to meet the growing demand from Utah’s increasingly global community.

Andrew is especially excited about the European-style holiday section coming later this fall. “The way Europeans package their gifts is so fun,” he says with a grin. Expect shelves filled with beautifully boxed chocolates, liquor-filled Austrian truffles, and festive treats ranging from $5 stocking stuffers to $60 gourmet boxes. There will even be toys and sweets for kids, making it a one-stop holiday wonderland.

Many European chocolates can be found on the shelves in European Tastees.

Walking through European Tastees is like taking a culinary trip around the world. One aisle brings you to Germany with Ritter Sport bars and marzipan treats; another transports you to Armenia and Eastern Europe with jars of preserves, pickled vegetables, and European beer. The deli counter tempts with Andrew’s personal favorite, cold cuts made from old European recipes. “I make wraps with them all the time,” he says. “They taste just like the ones my grandparents used to make.”

There’s also ice cream imported from abroad, freshly baked breads, and shelves filled with teas, spices, and sweets that can’t be found anywhere else in Utah.

As the holidays approach, European Tastees transforms into a festive experience like no other. Shoppers will find imported teas, candies, chocolates, and hand-selected gift baskets filled with international delicacies. Traditional European holiday treats like Stollen, panettone, and baklava line the shelves, each one carrying the charm and comfort of Old World celebrations.

This isn’t just a store. It’s a story of courage, community and culture. And as the Makians celebrate twenty years of bringing the world’s best tastes to Utah, their story reminds us all that some of the most extraordinary journeys start with simple ingredients like heart, hard work, and home.

Feature Image: Andrew Making, owner of European Tastees. Photos by John Taylor.

Go Local, Marketplace

Nicole Anderson

Nicole Anderson is a communication professional and freelance writer. She holds a master’s degree in Strategic Communications from Westminster College and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Utah. She is a certified Utah Master Naturalist in Wetlands, and has spent many years researching the Great Salt Lake. Anderson co-founded the blog, Summer of Salt, where she spent three summers exploring the shorelines of Great Salt Lake. In 2010, Anderson was commissioned to write, “Patterns of Change” which documented bird and human usage in Bear River Bay, and she later had a role in the 2012 documentary, “Evaporating Shorelines.” Anderson teaches intercultural and interpersonal communication at Salt Lake Community College. She has written as a freelance author for ten plus years. Her stories and articles have appeared in Airboating Magazine, Gateway Magazine, Utah Stories, and Utah Life Magazine, among several other print and online publications. Anderson has a passion to protect landscapes and places that cannot speak for themselves.