Small Salt Lake City community creates a ‘new Armenia’

Vibrant new perspectives are breathing fresh life into Salt Lake’s longstanding Armenian community.

(Design by Parker Jenkins | The Daily Utah Chronicle)

By Noah Wright,

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The spirit of spring has sprung in Utah, and one local community is finding freshness as it hearkens back to its roots.

Utah Armenians are finding strength in heritage and a renewed sense of togetherness as they strive towards what William Saroyan  as “when two [Armenians] meet anywhere in the world, [to] see if they will not create a New Armenia.”

Սարերով, ձորերով

Armenians have longstanding roots in Utah. A small, mountainous Caucasian nation tightly-knit along ethnic, linguistic and cultural lines, Armenia boasts an astounding % literacy rate and a strong shared identity as the world’s  Christian nation.

This closeness between Armenians can be felt as more  to Utah. Nick Markosian, founder and president of Markosian Auto in Taylorsville, expressed pride in his Armenian heritage. His great-grandparents settled in Murray as refugees following the 1915 Armenian genocide. The Markosian Library of Salt Lake Community College’s Redwood campus is named for his grandfather.

“I remember his speech very well when he donated that library. He talked about the free enterprise system and just how proud he is to be an American,” Markosian said. When it came time for him to name his auto business, he opted not to Americanize his name as his grandfather had done. “People are way more accepting today than they were 50 or 60 years ago. I named it ‘Markosian’ because I am proud of my Armenian heritage, proud to be associated with it,” he said.

For Markosian, the Armenian story is a story of entrepreneurship. “The saying I remember my grandpa telling me more than anything else was, ‘All you have to do is a little bit more than what everybody else is wanting to do, and you will kick major butt’, and boy was he right about that,” he said.

Հայ ես դու, Հայ եմ ես

Recent years have been marked with increasing desire among local Armenians to connect with each other. Professor Gohar Harutunyan, an Armenian native, got her bachelors’ degree at Columbia and PhD at Rutgers before deciding to teach at the U’s Eccles School in 2021. In her view, similarities between Utah and Armenia give the state significant staying power in the community.

Harutunyan said, “There are some aspects of Utah life which do remind me of Armenia. [People are] family oriented, friendly, and warm [… and] as in Armenia, I think Christianity is a big part of our identities.”

While nothing like the more robust Armenian communities in New York and New Jersey, Utah offers a more intimate version of Armenian sociality, especially during chance encounters. “Truly, when you meet an Armenian [in Utah], you just get each other. It goes without saying, just a special feeling,” Harutunyan said.

Սարերի Քամին

Utah continues to provide new and interesting Armenian experiences for Armenians and non-Armenians alike.

The Utah Family Search library  the growing work of Armenian genealogy, where any Armenian curious about their heritage can start their family tree. European Tastees, an Armenian-run world market  2005, prepares special-order Zhingyalov Hats (herb-stuffed Armenian flatbread) on Fridays and Saturdays. Most recently, in March, the Old Tiblisi Kitchen, an Armenian-Georgian restaurant, opened its doors in Midvale.

It is critical for Utah Armenians to engage meaningfully with these and other important artifacts of cultural identity, so that they are not erased forever.

The time of your life

My mother, who moved here from Armenia in 2001, has long been fond of the Armenian phrase, “ուր էինք, ուր հասանք,” or “look where we were then, and where we’ve arrived now.” During my childhood it felt like the Armenian diaspora had but a muted local presence with no real outlet. Mentioning “Armenia” garnered confused looks and raised eyebrows from classmates and teachers alike. My feet were firmly planted in two worlds, the American and the Armenian, feeling out of place in both.

Now in 2026, two years home from living in Armenia, all that has changed. Feeling Armenian in Utah no longer requires grasping at straws. New gathering places and an increased sense of togetherness have gelled Utah Armenians together in a way that not only congeals cultural connection but opens opportunities for non-Armenians to share the joy.

Saroyan said, “In the time of your life, live.” And so should the “New Armenia” grow to benefit all Utahns as they interface with a cultural heritage they have not before seen.