The Rejection of Armenian Cafe Culture

There's a popular street here in Yerevan, a place known as Northern Avenue. A somewhat short -- long for Armenia -- street that runs through a section of the city, somewhat void of interesting shops and things to do. A few tech shops and unknown brands sit by its sides, a small series of underpasses in the middle lead to a lesser-known underground shopping mall full of equal unknown brands and shops. Rarely appreciated by those who pass by. Though Northern Avenue (or fake New York as I have started to call it) is one of the most dense areas of the city, as people walk through it for the Christmas decorations and atmosphere, as well as for general walks as they purchase coffee from the more popular outdoor coffee shops that sit by the street. Small, occupied by just one or two people, but with lengthy queues as people line up for their more affordable hot drinks for their walks. This is where the average Armenian will obtain their coffee. Where the coffee options are more creative, also. Big brands of chocolate treats and such, thrown together in insanely sugary goodness; though I tend to avoid those and stick with the cappuccino, sometimes delving into the more festive gingerbread latte if I am lucky to find one somewhere. A little less popular on this side of the planet, sadly.

Despite being on the side of Northern Avenue, with incredible foot traffic opportunities, cafe culture here continues to be something rarely appreciated. Many of the cafes are either owned or visited by Russians. This ice cream cafe was completely empty. Void of any interest. Its ground floor held the worker behind the counter, its first floor empty entirely. Open seating areas, empty coat hangars showed disinterest in the location; coincidentally the Coffee House (outdoor coffee stalls) continued to have huge lines as people waited for their beverages. Though the odd thing about this culture, or perhaps rejection of cafe culture, is that there isn't necessarily anything wrong with these cafes. It isn't that people are simply voting with their wallets in a capitalistic manner of choosing quality over unfair pricing and poor experiences. I attend these cafes still like the confused foreign entity I am, almost the weird one to venture inside, opening doors that few others open.

Well, the picture above details the name of this location: Il Solo Gelato, open until the time of 12AM and containing a plethora of menu items for all types of weather and events, from the ice cream to cakes and burgers. Perhaps too large a menu for most, and it might fair better with simplified choices that may spark more interest and faith in potential customers.

Inside, at the first floor, is an art piece that details the general atmosphere and location of the building. You can see they have a very 50s, almost noir sort of impression of themselves. To some degree, it did have this feeling, though modernised slightly from the outside as it had a neon sort of look to it, a common thing here in Yerevan, a mixture of old and new. A unique blend that actually makes for some very beautiful photographs that play with different colours and tones of light. This huge piece of art covered the wall, ignored as nobody else was in there. Sort of an ancient, forgotten piece that was rarely seen. Quite an interesting environment.

Here you can see the other side of the room, that first floor still. Empty seating everywhere. Not a person in sight. I have grown familiar to this odd setting by now, a common experience in cafes throughout the day. Even walking through the busy streets, you find yourself looking down into underground cafes and bars, windows detailing the lack of presence inside. A few clear Russians may be slapping away at their Macbook keyboards as they work, and the usual: no Armenian presence. I mentioned recently that this culture is relatively new, but another aspect of this rejection of the culture is the high cost of coffee in them. $3 - $4 for a cappuccino is far too high for the average citizen as the salaries range around $400 per month. Tech salaries much higher, of course.

For context, the popular and aforementioned Coffee House will have prices about half that. And I have to admit, the coffee inside cafes in comparison rarely have the same quality. Often not hot enough, clearly made in machines that don't require much effort and care to make the coffee good.

This small cappuccino was about $3, I paid for it with my Coinbase Card, something I've been using a lot lately. A bit easier to use and spend using USDC rather than cashing crypto out into fiat, a bit of laziness on my part. This coffee wasn't amazing, nothing to right home about. As I said: not exactly hot, a little on the warmer side than a great comforting coffee in the colder evening as the sun went down and the temperature dropped. I have definitely joined the Armenians in understanding why they make their choices in coffee, and where they go for it. But I continue to want to explore Yerevan, curious about its hidden locations, its smaller cafes and businesses that certainly would appreciate the customers. Admittedly not all are deserving of it, so I choose wisely in these decisions.

As I continue to integrate more, continue to learn the language and roam with cameras, I want to help more. To share more of Yerevan and Armenian culture, to help put places on the map. To hear the stories of many Armenian lives that are kept hidden, not by any intentional means, but purely from the fact that nobody else is bothering to ask the questions.

I'm going to keep going to different cafes, to try to see which ones stand out, which seem neglected and why. Taking photographs of them all and their fun designs and atmospheres. Capturing and detailing the unique culture that is found in them. That fun contrast that stands out in comparison to perhaps European cafe culture which is certainly thriving in comparison.

All of the images were taken with a Sony A6000 on a Sony E mount 35mm F1.8 lens. A nice shallow depth of field, with the APS-C sensor which gives a bit more of a crop to the image. Up-close and real beautiful. Smooth bokeh and gentle tones.