European Market Brings Unique Taste to Wayne

Frank Brlajoil's store is growing.

When Brlajoil, who is originally from Kosovo, opened the store a month ago with his wife, he only had a few shelves for displaying the products he sells. Now he has several.

“We’re slowly getting bigger,” Brlajoil said with a smile. “A little bit at a time.”

Brlajoil’s store, the European Specialty Market, sells imported foods from mostly Eastern Europenan countries including Albania, Croatia, Serbai, Macedonia, and Turkey, just to name a few. The store is located in the Mountainview section of town.

“There’s a market for this kind of food,” Brlajoil said. “Normally, you’d have to go to Brooklyn or buy these products online, which can be very inexpensive to do.”

Brlajoil said he’s already spoken to several North Jersey Croatian immigrants who are glad they have a place to go to buy food from their home country.

“Normally, if you want something from eastern Europe, you either have to go to Brooklyn or order it on the Interent, which can be very expenseive,” Brlajoil said. “If we can be a place where they can go to get what they want, that’s what we want.”

Brlajoil is one of 100 small business owners particiating in American Express' Small Business Saturday, an nationwide initative to have people shop locally during the holiday season.