Meet Nataliya Krekhovetska of Real of Ohio and East to West

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nataliya Krekhovetska.

Hi Nataliya, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Nataliya. I’m originally from Ukraine, and I have been living in the United States for 15 years.

My journey in America started in New York, where I studied Fashion Marketing and spent many years working in sales, management, and visual merchandising.

In 2020, my family and I moved to Ohio, and that move opened a completely new chapter in my life. I decided to change careers and became a real estate agent. Today, I help people buy and sell homes, guiding them through the entire process and helping families find a place they can truly call home.

But I always wanted to build something of my own as well. That dream led my husband and me to start our European grocery store in Medina — East to West Old World Market & Deli.

We started from the ground up — from an idea to finding the right location, securing financing, renovations, equipment, permits, and suppliers. Our goal is to create a place where people can find European foods they grew up with and flavors that bring back memories of home.

My 15 years in America have been a journey of constant change and growth — a new country, education, different jobs, moving from New York to Ohio, a new career, and now our own business.

Nothing happened overnight. Every new chapter started with one simple decision: to take a chance and try something new.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road. The biggest challenges for me when I moved to the United States were learning English and adapting to a new culture.

When you come to a new country, everything feels different — the language, the way people communicate, the culture, the work environment, and even simple everyday things. I had to learn not only how to speak English, but also how to understand a completely different way of life.

There were times when I was afraid of making mistakes or saying something incorrectly, but I kept pushing myself to learn, communicate, and become more confident.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve continued my education, built my career, moved from New York to Ohio, became a real estate agent, and now I’m opening a European grocery store with my husband.

Every stage has brought new challenges, but learning the language and adapting to a new culture were the foundation for everything that came after. They taught me to be persistent, open to change, and never be afraid to start something new.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What connects my work in real estate and East to West Old World Market & Deli is something very simple — people. In both, communication, trust, and personal connection are the most important parts of what I do.

In real estate, I help people make one of the biggest decisions of their lives — buying a home. Some clients need reassurance because they are nervous or afraid of making a mistake. Others may fall in love with a house too quickly, and my job is to slow them down, help them look at the bigger picture, and think carefully about the pros and cons. I never want someone to feel that I am simply trying to make a sale. I want them to know that I am on their side.

That same philosophy is a big part of why we created East to West Old World Market & Deli.

Our store is focused on European and Eastern European foods, including products from Ukraine and other European countries. We offer deli meats and cheeses, fresh bread, frozen foods, smoked fish, herring, caviar, preserves, pantry staples, chocolates, candies, and many traditional products that are not always easy to find in a regular American grocery store.

But I don’t want East to West to feel like just another grocery store. I want it to be a place where customers feel comfortable asking questions and discovering something new.

If someone walks in and doesn’t recognize half of the products on our shelves, that’s perfectly fine. I want to be there to explain what something is, how we eat it, what it goes well with, and which products I think they absolutely have to try. For someone who grew up with these foods, I want walking into our store to bring back memories. For someone experiencing Eastern European food for the first time, I want to help them discover it.

That is what makes the store personal to me. Many of these foods are connected to our childhood, our families, our traditions, and the places we came from. This is where our message, “From our roots to your table,” really comes from. It isn’t just a slogan — it describes what we are trying to create.

I also want the store to bring different people together. You don’t have to be Ukrainian or Eastern European to shop with us. I want American customers and people from every background to come in, be curious, ask us questions, try something they have never tasted before, and hopefully find a new favorite.

I believe the best small businesses are built on relationships. I want to know our customers, listen to what products they are looking for, learn what they like, and eventually be able to say, “I know exactly what you should try.”

That personal relationship is what I want East to West Old World Market & Deli to be known for. We are not simply putting products on shelves. We are sharing foods, traditions, and a little piece of where we come from — while creating something new here in Medina.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Some of my favorite childhood memories are the time I spent with my grandparents in Ukraine. I especially remember celebrating Christmas together as a family — the traditions, the food, and the feeling of everyone being together.

During the summers, I would often stay with my grandparents for a few months. I helped them around the house and with their daily work, and some of my favorite moments were in the kitchen with my grandmother. She taught me how to cook and would let me help prepare lunch or dinner. At the time, these were just normal parts of everyday life, but today I realize how special those moments were.

I still remember the smells from her kitchen, the homemade food, and sitting down together after we had prepared a meal. Those memories gave me a strong connection to family, food, and Ukrainian traditions.

Looking back now, I think those summers with my grandparents influenced me more than I realized. Maybe that is also part of why opening East to West Old World Market & Deli feels so personal to me. Food has a way of bringing us back to certain people, places, and moments in our lives. For me, many of those memories will always take me back to my grandparents’ home and my grandmother’s kitchen.

Pricing:

• Initial buyer consultations are complimentary.
• • Home prices and costs vary depending on location, property type, financing, and current market conditions.
• – We offer a variety of European products at different price points to fit different budgets\.
• – Pricing varies by product, brand, country of origin, and availability\.

Contact Info:

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