February 22, 2006 Issue
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February 22, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Webmaster Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2005 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of Three |
Afghan native finds grounds for success on Hill
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A blend of past experience in the restaurant business and his former residence in Seattle – famous for its coffee obsession – is the fuel behind Sultan Malikyar’s passion for coffee and customer service.
As owner of the Chestnut Hill Coffee Company, 8620 Germantown Ave., each morning he greets his customers with the aroma of coffee. He introduces his customers to a coffee that is often lost in today’s latte-and-whipped-cream experience – a carefully and purposefully blended recipe.
“It’s a very complex business and product,” said Malikyar, referring not only to the choosing of the beans but also the blending and brewing of them to create a pleasant and welcoming beverage.
Malikyar now considers Chestnut Hill his home, but he is a long way from his first home. Malikyar, 41, was born in Afghanistan, where his father and many of his family and friends were upper class citizens involved in the politics of the country. So when in the 1970s the communist regime took over, his family and friends lost their reputations, and many were thrown into jail.
“All of a sudden everything changed,” said Malikyar, who was 13 at the time. His family had been blacklisted by the new regime, and they were forced to leave the country to avoid having all their possessions confiscated and their “lives made miserable.”
The family fled to Paris, France, for a year. Malikyar said he remembers feeling “stateless” at the time, while his family was “trying to figure out what to do” and where to make their next home. That new home would be Seattle, where his father knew friends.
In Seattle, his father opened the only Afghan restaurant in the city, according to Malikyar. He ran that restaurant for four years until moving to California for health reasons. Malikyar stayed in Seattle and opened his own Afghan restaurant. After 10 years with the restaurant, he decided to help others build and design restaurants as a consultant.
About two years ago, 25 years after coming to America, Malikyar had the chance to go back to Afghanistan. With the improvement in the political situation, his sister and father had moved back to the country.
“For me it was a dream come true, I thought I would never go back. It was very exciting but at the same time very sad,” said Malikyar, referring to the devastation that now defined his old neighborhood and friends.
While there, he said he could see the devastation the war had caused not only in the streets, but also “in people’s eyes.” He said, though, that his visit to the country served as a beacon of hope to many people. “I saw people happy, hopeful things would be getting better,” said Malikyar, and the return of people from the west to Afghanistan meant that these returners saw the country as safe.
He stayed for a few months, considering whether to stay permanently or return to the U.S. “I wanted to find out where home was for me,” Malikyar said, but it wasn’t just a matter of geography. He was confused for a while, torn between joining his family in his native country or returning to the home he had built in America.
But then he realized, “I’m luckier than most people. I now have two homes.” He decided to return to America, and Malikyar has now made his way to Chestnut Hill, by invitation of a friend who saw potential for his coffee-passion on the Hill.
The native Afghani brought his friend and personal coffee-guru, John Hornall, who now works as his “main man” at the Chestnut Hill café. “John basically taught me everything I know about coffee,” Malikyar said.
Though he emphasized he takes great care in choosing his ingredients – he wouldn’t even reveal his coffee bean provider – he also noted that the creation of his products involves more than the coffee bean. “It’s not just about the best ingredients, but the people behind the counter and the machine that create the drink are what make the product,” Malikyar said.
The Chestnut Hill Coffee Company opened last October and features coffee and tea and baked goods from Miel Bakery in Cherry Hill, N.J. Currently Malikyar is looking to add live entertainment to his café’s schedule, and recently hosted two storytellers for adults. Other events in the works are weekly crèpes and monthly music, cheese and dessert nights.
On Friday, Feb. 24, the café is hosting Scot Sax and local musician David Cope. For more information, call 215-242-8600 or visit www.chcco.com.
