Business

Pictures provided by the Sigman Family, and the Zourzouki Family

Greek Business

Greek families have been coming to the United States since the mid 1800’s. This includes the Asheville area. In large part these immigrants were Greek males coming to America expecting to work and return to home after earning capital and dowries for their families. However, once many of these individuals arrived and became somewhat established in a job or occupation they wrote home describing America as having endless opportunities for wealth than ever possible in Greece and many chose to remain and seek citizenship.

The area of work that the Greek immigrants took part in varied, dependent on the area of the United States in which they chose to live. For example Greeks in the Western states worked on the railroads and in mines while other Greeks worked in the mill towns of  areas like New England. Many  worked in textile and shoe factories. In Asheville, if work was not found in familiar areas, they looked to popular venues  such as busboys, dishwashers, and such. Within a short amount of time however, many Greek individuals saw that they could make a profit in other more lucrative avenues and many opened their own businesses.

The average Greek immigrant did not bring enough money to America to begin their own business. Yet, they were innovative in creating a means of income such as choosing a street corner on which to stand and sell candies, fruits, etc. Greek immigrants worked hard to save money and they secured a small amount of their profits each pay period, no matter how large or small they may be. In time they saved enough to help their businesses grow larger. Often the savings were used to assist  immigrants in the acquisition of a small sidewalk space that increased the amount of goods they could sell and this increased their profit resulted in income toward a permanent location. Using their profits they were able to rent a small store and with time as their businesses grew, they were able to purchase the small store  and to create a healthy income for the entire family.

In Asheville, for example, Greek restaurants became a popular means of income for Greek men. These restaurants were very profitable, possibly because the restaurants offered a new type of food and attraction for the area. Also, many Greek businesses such as hat shops or candy shops that were dependent on individual talents, abilities, and interests, flourished. These many businesses enabled Greek immigrants to attain financial security enabling them to help provide a means for their wives and other family members to come to America.

In summary, many Greek individuals, immigrated to the United States with the idea of wealth and fortune. They imbedded this idea of the American Dream of success into their children. Some immigrants wanted to stay only a short amount of time, earn money, and then move back to Greece. But, many individuals fell in love with the area and quickly made their home here. While many immigrants chose to open their own business, some immigrants chose to work in area industry such as factories and textile mills.  The family owned businesses quickly became important to the family and passed down from generation to generation. Many of these businesses have been passed along to the third and fourth generation and those generations plan to continue the tradition.  These financial successes in business increased the fulfillment of the dream of prosperity that the Greek immigrants had when they set out for America.