“I was born in Leninakan, and after graduating from school in 98, my family decided to move to Moscow. I entered the Medical University, then into residency, graduate school, and then defended my PhD thesis. I have two specialties: the first is an endocrinologist, the second is a healthcare organizer. In Moscow, I was the deputy chief physician for medical affairs in one of the clinics,” Anna Sargsyan begins her story.

 

It would seem that with such an impressive medical biography one could only go into medicine, but Anna, having moved to her homeland, became one of those who changed the gastronomic appearance of her native Gyumri, establishing a business that, by the way, also works for other regions.

 

“During the years when I lived in Leninakan, I didn’t go anywhere, I only knew my city. My first trip to Armenia took place in 2017, when I came for a visit and immediately went from the airport to Dilijan. I fell in love with this small city, and then I saw Yerevan for the first time. The next year I came back to my homeland on vacation, and then I saw all of Armenia. I saw a country with excellent opportunities for life, work, and prospects. What did I like here? There is very little of everything here, open it and do what you want. I flew again in August and went to Artsakh, and decided that I was moving,” recalls Anna.

 

Anna admits: at the beginning it was hard. At that time she lived most of her life in Moscow. Of course, there were friends in Gyumri, but in Yerevan she was alone. And although her hometown is her favorite, she moved to Yerevan because there were work opportunities in the capital.

 

“When I came here, medicine was the priority, and now medicine really remains the priority. I found out that there is Invitro here, one of the largest Russian medical companies. I got a job as an endocrinologist, and literally a few months later I was appointed head of the medical service of Invitro Armenia, where I continue to work to this day,” says Anna.

 

She admits that after moving she had no idea of ​​going into the restaurant business. But then, at the beginning of next year, it was decided to launch a small restaurant project in Gyumri. It was called Chechil. After this, a large project in an open space was born - GGH Abovyan: this became the beginning of a new business, a large open-format restaurant, where concerts were held almost every week. The project has become very popular and brought a record number of tourists to Gyumri in 2020-21. A large number of people rallied to work on the project. It worked in the second season, then Anna started opening another restaurant - GGH Rustaveli, the third largest project. Despite the fact that it worked for a short time, it made a great cultural contribution to Gyumri.

 

And then all these successes logically led to the fact that various proposals were received, in particular, a restaurant project in Tatev - Tabby and one of the most famous restaurants in Gyumri - “Poloz Mukuch”. In July 2024, another open-format project will start near the Black Fortress in Gyumri.

 

 

“There was a very interesting story in Tatev: employees from Gyumri and Tatev worked together, it was a wonderful collaboration. We transported employees there from Gyumri, employees who had never been to Tatev. It was fun when everyone got together and everyone spoke their own dialect. It is precisely such projects aimed at developing regions that are of particular importance. Now only residents of Tatev work there. If there is a need, colleagues from Gyumri also go there. The whole message is to unite everyone,” says Anna.

 

According to Anna, her projects are absolutely social. They are aimed at developing regions, especially her native Gyumri. There is a lot of potential in the regions, and they need to be developed, she believes. This desire intensified for her after 2020, when she clearly saw that there was nothing left to lose.

 

“We are all fixated on our personal successes, we do not appreciate what we have. When we lost Artsakh, unfortunately, for some of our compatriots it meant nothing. If, God forbid, we lose Syunik, it will still be the same. Therefore, it is important that people move around, see the regions and learn the cost of possible losses.

 

When GGH Abovyan worked in Gyumri, many people began to come for the first time, and this generally had its benefits for the city: one of the hotel owners once thanked us, because Saturday events brought many people to Gyumri, the hotels were full. And of course, we create jobs and interesting work. When tourists come, it becomes an opportunity to see new things and a different culture. In this sense, we must continue to open such sites,” she thinks out loud.

 

In the regions of Armenia, in her opinion, there are few professional employees in the restaurant industry, and there is nowhere for them to train. Therefore, we need to develop them and train them, even through some dissatisfaction among restaurant visitors. Regarding the problems of restaurant projects, she admits that there are problems with both the quantity and quality of human resources: there are few creative people who are ready to fully immerse and participate in the creation and development of projects. Nevertheless, Anna notes that she is very lucky: in Gyumri, in Tatev, and in Yerevan, she has exactly such people in her circle and this is a huge value for her.

 

Assessing the overall environment in which she conducts her work, she says: “I am confused by such issues as the reluctance to work according to standards, learn new things and develop, while making efforts. But I’m not upset here either: the main thing is to find people who are on the same wavelength as you, their perception of work and projects is the same as yours. This is the most difficult thing, but training is a matter of time. I also believe that for more extensive and rapid development, joint efforts of regional authorities and the private sector are necessary.

 

In terms of medicine, I can say that there are a lot of good specialists, but the organization of healthcare is very bad, failures are in this area.”

 

Anna works every day, seven days a week: she is not used to sitting idle. On weekdays she is at Invitro, and on weekends she travels to her native Gyumri and Tatev.

 

 

 

Regarding the personal achievements received in Armenia, she confessed that the best thing that she received from Armenia is the opportunity and right to have a homeland, and in return for this happy opportunity, she works, creates, develops.

 

“2020 has changed a lot for every Armenian, regardless of where they live. I don’t understand people who come after this and say that something is wrong. There will always be difficulties, what matters is your attitude towards them. It is clear that a new life will bring difficulties, but if you are ready to understand that in the beginning it will be like this, and then it will be good, then you should definitely come,” concludes Anna Sargsyan.