The stores offer a wide range of food products: from vegetables and fruits to sweets, chocolate, jams, meat, pastries and wines from the Republic of Moldova and Romania. Among the most popular brands are Purcari, Cricova, Bucuria, as well as fresh meat dishes and traditional placindas.
“We come into the Moldova store two or three times a week. When I want dumplings, I find them here. There is nothing like this in France,” Sergiu, who has been living in France for several years, told local news service rfi.fr.
Customers are served by Andrei Tincu from Edinet. He has been working in the Moldova network in the Paris region for 4 years and in Mo for a few months. “I had the chance to work in another French city, in a Moldova store. I worked there for a very long time. A lot of Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, French people come there, a lot of people. Fish, sausages sell well.”
“From drinks you can find something from Cricova, Purcari, Vinohora, Maluri de Prut, and also Individo. The chocolates are from Bucuria. We also have vegetable stew in a can and Vis peas. Although the store is called Moldova, we also have products from Romania, Poland. We also have Moldovan apples and plums. On holidays, the store is full of customers. But they come for shopping on weekdays as well. Both wine and sparkling wine are in demand,” said Andrei Tincu.
(By the way – Vinohora from Purcari costs 18.90 euros in this store).
Customers can also find Smântânel cakes and placindas from the Bardar bakery from Ialoveni.
Veronica Luca from the village of Scherpeni, Anenii Noi, who has been living in France for 11 years, always goes to this store when she is homesick. Here she also buys traditional paska for Easter and nutty cozonac for Christmas. Even the curd for Moldovan placindas, like her mother’s….
“When I walk into this store, I feel like I’m in my homeland, in the Republic of Moldova. The atmosphere, the music, the way the products are laid out – just like in Chisinau. I prefer grapes, and the children choose bars and chocolate. The cakes come frozen. There are always customers, especially on weekends, but also on our religious vacations and winter vacations. At Easter we have Moldovan paska, a variety of pastries from the village. Even bread, as in “Franzelutz.” If I want to bake placindas like my mother’s, of course I will find curd in the “Moldova” store.
“One day I saw a black man in the store. He bought marinated meat. It is very good, it has a special flavor. I was surprised to see a foreigner buying our products. All the stores in France sell the same products, but in our store everything is different. Even the very pickled, seasoned carrots or pickles, which you won’t find on the shelves of French stores,” says Veronica.
