Russians Visit Restaurant Solutions
Restaurant Solutions Inc.
A FRIENDLY FOREIGN EXCHANGE
June 7, 2006 8:36 AM EDT
Staff photo by Todd R. McQueen
Restaurant Solutions Inc. owner Rob Porter discusses products to the visiting Russian group.
Russians visit Marietta business for restaurant ideas
Wednesday, June 7, 2006 8:36 AM EDT
By Jon Gillooly
Marietta Daily Journal Staff WriterMARIETTA -
When 52-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich learned of a chance to fly to the U.S. and learn about its restaurant culture, he jumped at the opportunity. He lives in the Russian city of Bryansk, south of Moscow.Vasilyevich owns a wholesale food business that employs about 50, including his two sons, ages 22 and 24. He and 17 other Russians spent Tuesday at Marietta-based Restaurant Solutions, at the corner of Austell Road and South Cobb Drive.There, they examined the latest restaurant equipment, from deep fryers and blenders, to popcorn machines.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the program is called Special American Business Internship Training, or SABIT, Food Service Program. It kicked off in Washington, D.C., before heading south to metro Atlanta for a stop on the way to Las Vegas."What I really like is that the American government is making steps, very specific steps, to facilitate contacts between Russian and American businesses," Vasilyevich said.Restaurant Solutions General Manager Jim Wilmot said the group contacted him a few months ago, after finding his business on the Internet, and asked if the group could stop by for a tour.Owner Rob Porter said, "The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming,'" Wilmot recalled with a laugh.Wilmot said international sales are common for the Marietta company. It frequently sells kitchen equipment to such African nations as Nigeria.Wilmot led the group of Russians through the company's warehouse, pointing out how various machines work.Through a translator, the Russians peppered him with questions. The overall concern was how to maintain the equipment. Although it's more expensive to buy things in Europe due to the strong value of the Euro, at least vendors there provide contacts to handle maintenance.
Before he started his own business, Vasilyevich said he worked as an engineer for a defense manufacturer under the former Soviet Union."I had a very good job," he said. "I was reasonably well off in the Soviet Union, but I personally think that the country, as a whole, won more than it lost after the change."That's not to say all Russians favored the end of the Soviet Union."People viewed it very differently depending on their own attitude and culture and age because there were certain Communist Party people who worked for the party," he said. "They lost everything, and for many people it was tragic because their life was absolutely ruined. For me, it was an opportunity."But Vasilyevich said it is still much easier to do business in the United States."American life, on the whole, is better organized to start a business. You don't put in that much effort. It's natural business problems," he said. "But in our country, you know, sometimes the law is not well developed. People may not view a business positively, culturally. You know, we have more problems starting a business than Americans."When speaking about America, the subject of the Iraqi war often comes up in conversation, he said."I personally support the decision," he said, noting that he does not represent the majority of his people. "Someone should accept responsibility in this world, and it's not easy. It's really important to have a force in the world, a responsible force, and it was a very important decision on the part of the American Government."
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posted by Restaurant Solutions Inc. @ 7:52 AM
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