Despite statistics showing the majority of Athens County residents are white, other cultures have made their way into the Appalachian area.
The U.S. Census reported that more than 91.7 percent of Athens County residents in 2011 are white and only 3.9 percent are foreign born, but the area is host to 26 establishments that serve international cuisine.
Among those establishments are Zoe, Purple Chopstix and Stephen’s, which include foreign foods on their restaurant menus; New Market, an Asian grocery store; and Chipotle Mexican Grill and Taco Bell, chain restaurants that serve Mexican fare.
Authenticity, however, is a different matter. Todd Wilson, co-owner of Sol Restaurant, which will celebrate its anniversary on February 2, said he believes the Cuban food the restaurant serves is unique in the Athens area.
“I don’t think there’s much competition,” Wilson said. “There aren’t really a lot of authentic ethnic restaurants in Athens. We’ve got a very unique product; Cuban food is completely different than anything else.”
Salaam restaurant co-owner Mark Burhans, whose establishment was previously located where Sol is today, said Salaam’s menu does not try to imitate foreign foods but instead puts a twist on many different ethnic influences.
“We’ll take some liberties with it,” Burhans said. “We’ll take some of these (international) ingredients and play around with it and make it our own. We don’t try to be authentic at all. We say it is cuisine inspired by cuisine in other places.”
Burhans said it’s important to have businesses that serve internationally inspired foods, because this allows people who may not have eaten that kind of food before to experience something different.
“Especially living in southern Ohio, some people are afraid to come in,” Burhans said. “They’re used to eating hamburgers and potatoes and gravy. … There’s always something for everyone, and there’s kind of an ongoing education of the public which is letting people know it’s not that scary.”
Andrea Molnar, a manager at Lui Lui, a restaurant with a menu that includes foods from a wide range of cultures, said there is something for everybody at the restaurant, as opposed to other businesses that might focus on one international influence.
“We really don’t specialize in one ethnicity,” Molnar said. “It’s a good restaurant for someone who wants variety. With us and any other international restaurant in Athens, people would have gotten a (chance to be exposed) to something they may not have had otherwise.”
Olga Sormaz, a junior studying linguistics and French and an Athens native, said she thinks Athens has a fairly diverse culinary scene.
“I think that the international food scene is growing, and we definitely have more varieties of international foods compared to other college towns,” she said.
Burhans said Athens’ international food offerings could do with some expansion, but only to a certain extent.
“I really like the fact we have businesses like Sol, because they bring business to Uptown,” Burhans said. “We kind of help one another by kind of creating an atmosphere of fine dining. I think Athens could stand for a few more ethnic restaurants … but too many, and business might begin to drop off.”
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