Pushcart Owner Finds New Home on Street

By Ali Bhanpuri

DOWNTOWN—Under the morning shadows of a 40-floor building, there’s a white push cart with red letters that read “Karo’s BBQ.” The cart’s owner, Harutiun Dermendjian, 55, hunches over one of three coolers, his New England Patriots hat exposing trench-like creases in his forehead. One of his two sons, Lester, 23, helps him unload lettuce, onions, peppers and tomatoes.

“I get all my vegetables and bread fresh every morning,” says Dermendjian, who wakes at 4 a.m. to season chicken and dice vegetables at his kitchen in Peabody.

For the past 10 years, the Dermendjian’s have served Armenian-style food as an affordable alternative to the ubiquitous hot dogs and fries. Over the years, they have watched the neighborhood change.

“It was so quiet in the beginning,” Dermendjian says of the downtown area. “Then, they started a lot of construction.”

In January, he watched bulldozers and cranes demolish the old Filene’s Basement building in Downtown Crossing. He says the plans for future hotels, retail, and residential spaces, sent street vendors scattering for new working locations.

“I didn’t know if we were going to survive,” says Dermendjian, who was forced to move his pushcart from the Filene’s Basement sidewalk to the corner of State and Washington streets. “I’m not mad or bitter about [having to move locations]. They are making new construction, and new construction is always good.”

He added: “maybe 10 people suffer but 100 benefit.”

Rosemarie Sansone, president at the Downtown Crossing Partnership, says some vendors are benefitting from the recent construction.

“It all depends on the product, how they sell it, and how often they are open for business,” Sansone says. “Mr. Dermendjian seems to understand the market place, his customers, and what hours of operation make sense.”

Since taking over the business from a cousin in 2003, Dermendjian has opened another push cart—run by his wife Yegisapet and their eldest son, 25-year-old Andres—at the intersection of Hawley and Summer streets in Downtown Crossing.

Dermendjian prides himself on diligent preparation and what he calls a secret family recipe. He says his spices are “not too hot but add just enough flavor,” keeping customers like Vishal Wadhwa, 27, coming back at least once a week because of its “great taste and its hygienic quality compared to other vendors.”

Leslie Madden, 45, frequents Karo’s for lunch four times a week because “it’s convenient, consistent and clean.”

Dermendjian says maintaining a steady customer base has been difficult, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the food. He says offices have moved to new locations, stripping him of his regular customers.

Dermendjian says business slows when Christmas approaches, because the cold keeps many customers indoors. Between January and March, Dermendjian closes his cart and does construction work. For those three months, the Partnership cuts his rent by 50 percent.

As noon approaches, the cart’s red letters glisten in the sun, but few would seem to notice. The growing crowd covers the name.