Zohreh Beheshti, an Iranian immigrant who came to the United States in 1998, has become a success story in the Massachusetts town of Belmont. She runs Super Vanak, a small grocery store she started with her husband in March 2021. She said she opened the store because there were no other Iranian grocer nearby to serve the large Iranian population who want to get food from their homeland.
What she did not anticipate was the number of Afghan immigrants from the area who would come to her store – drawn there because they shared a common language with Beheshti.
“We advertised that we spoke Farsi,” she said in a recent interview, “and this brought in Afghans, too.”
She started her business just as many Afghan refugees settled in Belmont. They had fled their country in 2021 after the Taliban took control of the government, and President Biden pulled out U.S. troops, effectively ending the U.S.’s 20-year-long involvement in that country.
Speaking Farsi has made it easier for Beheshti and her Afghan customers to connect and communicate, and she said she is happy to serve them.
They come for pistachios, sangak and bastani.
Beheshti’s commitment to her community is evident in many ways. For example, she offers a 10 percent discount to Afghan immigrants and other community members who sponsor refugees. She said her employees, many of whom are also immigrants from Afghanistan, are close.
“If one of us doesn’t come to work, the others call to see why we’re not there,” she said. “We’re like a family at the market.”
This, she said, is what she loves most about her business.
But she also values the contributions her store has made in Belmont. “Many people call our store to ask if they can advertise for an upcoming event, and of course, we’re happy to help out,” she added.
Beheshti attributes the store’s success to honesty and good organizational and managerial skills, such as keeping a clean store and treating employees well.
In addition to the discount and a warm environment, she insists on selling only the freshest and highest-quality food. Her customers appreciate her honesty in telling them when an item does not look fresh.
“I refuse to sell bad food,” she said. “If a customer is going to buy an apple that doesn’t look fresh to me, I tell them to get another one. Quality is so important, and being honest about that is, too.”
One of her employees, who asked to remain anonymous for political reasons, said she fled her home country of Afghanistan when the Taliban took control in August 2021. After settling in Belmont, she was hired at Super Vanak and quickly became an integral part of the team. In addition to gaining valuable work experience, she said she has been able to support herself and her family as they build a new life in the United States.
Despite the challenges of adapting to a new country and culture — including learning to speak English — the woman said she feels grateful for the opportunity to work at a place that values inclusivity and a strong work ethic. However, she emphasized the importance of learning English quickly in order to better assimilate into U.S. culture. Her advice to newly-arrived immigrants? “Learn English fast.”
Beheshti recalls one recent experience she had in her store. She said she was walking through the aisles of Super Vanak and noticed a woman struggling to communicate with one of the employees.
The woman was holding a recipe card in one hand and pointing to various items on the shelves with the other, but the employee was clearly struggling to understand what she wanted.
Beheshti stepped in and introduced herself, quickly realizing that the woman was a newly arrived refugee from Afghanistan who spoke very little English.
Beheshti listened patiently as the woman explained the dish she was trying to make, nodding along and offering suggestions for ingredients she could use, such as saffron.
As the woman gathered the items she needed, Beheshti helped her understand how to use the store’s bulk bins and find the right cuts of meat.
When the woman was ready to check out, Beheshti gave her a warm smile, telling her in Farsi to come back any time she needed help.
This story was published as part of a collaboration between Sampan and Boston University’s Department of Journalism in the College of Communication. The student journalist is a member of a Reporting in Depth class taught by former Boston Globe reporter Meghan Irons.
