Founded by an immigrant family from the former Yugoslavia in the Bom Retiro neighborhood, in the central region of São Paulo, the Burikita sweetshop has faced several recessions and economic crises in its 51 years of existence. This time, however, it didn’t work anymore.
The trade, specializing in strudels and burekas (typical snacks from the Balkan region), closed the doors of the point it has occupied in these five decades at number 138 on the famous Três Rios Street, considered this year one of the most interesting in the world by the British magazine Time Out .
“The support from the community, which everyone helped to build, at this historic point filled with joyful memories, was tremendous and made us want to continue, but unfortunately it’s not feasible,” says David Ben Avram, who runs the business, in an Instagram video. founded by his parents along with his brother, Miki.
According to Miki, 83, the pandemic was the trigger for a situation that was already difficult. “People no longer have purchasing power, almost no one passes by. We managed to get by with the help of the bank, but this was not the worst crisis we have ever faced. What are we going to do? claims.
He was 17 years old when his parents, Avraham and Matilda, migrated by ship with the family from Belgrade to São Paulo, in 1955. “At that time Brazil was a thousand wonders. It was a country that progressed, and in World War II everyone in Europe had lost a lot.”
The couple started making burikites to order, for friends and neighbors, until the store opened in 1970. Miki says he doesn’t know if there is a possibility of resuming the business in the future. “There is no way to define anything, we have to see how things will be next year.”
Anyone who wants to taste the products has one last chance. To liquidate the stock, the store is delivering cheese or potato burukitas (R$9 each) and frozen apple strudel (R$50).
Burikite sweets. Delivery by telephones (11) 3227-2654 and (11) 94112-5518 (whatsapp)
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