Restaurant “Yugoslavia” to Open in Macedonia’s Capital
Text by Ekaterina Petrova
The dilemma of whether to remove the the red pentacle from the state coat of arms– a move that officials say aims to indicate that Macedonia is breaking all ties with its communist past, does not stand before the country’s restaurant owners, the Vecer newspaper reported today.
On October 11 – the date on which the National Liberation War of Macedonia began in 1941, which resulted in the formation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia as part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the new restaurant “Yugoslavia” will open in the complex of the Old Train Station.
The restaurant will be recognizable not just by its specific interior but also by the enormous Yugoslavian flag at the venue’s entrance. The eatery’s menu will include specialties from each of the former Yugoslav republics – so in addition to the typically Macedonian tavche gravche - Tetovo beans baked in a clay pot, and Tikveshka jolta – the yellow brandy from the region of Tikvesh, guests will be able to sample dishes and beverages typical of Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo.
There won’t be preferential treatment of the specialties and no particular ones will be forced on the guests, Slobodan Ugrinovski, who is the new restaurant’s owner and the head of the Tito’s Left Forces party, told the publication. He hopes his venue will attract both locals and international guests, especially such from the former Yugoslav republics.
Ugrinovski is also considering making the possibility of allowing the settling of bills with all the currencies that replaced the Yugoslavian dinar upon the federation’s disintegration.
According to the publication, this isn’t the first restaurant in Macedonia’s capital that aims to attract clients by reminding them of life in the former socialist federation by using symbols of former Yugoslavia and its long-time leader, Marshal Josip Broz Tito. "Broz Café" and "At the Marshal’s" are two venues that have been open in Skopje for quite a while.
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