Dad would always say “I never served my customers anything I didn’t like”. Anyone who knew Dad, always said “He was a great storyteller who sometimes drifted into telling jokes and always smiling”. Those who knew Leon Demerdjian respected him for his forever love and dedication to his beloved wife and children, his brutal honesty, and ongoing love for his customers. Our Dad embraced his friends, employees and customers inviting them to be a part of his family. His eagerness to please his customers was always his first priority.text that relates to your style and story.
Dad retired from Sayat Nova in 1999 and helped out at Raffi’s Restaurant in Naperville to pass the time. His love for the restaurant never ended. After decades of customer requests, Dad decided to bottle the marinade and in April 2010, the first production of Our Dad’s Chicago Marinade was launched. He was so excited to help us market his great creation at the Naperville farmer’s market at the 5th avenue station in front of Raffi’s restaurant. After just 4 months, the marinade was a hit and sold like hot cakes. With the savory smell of the chicken kabobs on the grill and his famous rice pilaf, the people would gather around to taste the delicious chicken kebab samples and rice pilaf. He was so happy and excited, smiling from ear to ear when people said “this is the best chicken marinade I have ever tasted”. He was finally complete that his creation was on the market and proud that his children will keep his dream alive.
Our Dad was born in Beirut where his family settled after fleeing the Armenian genocide. As a teenager, he made his way to the U.S. through Canada, with the intent on furthering his education by enrolling in an engineering program at what is now the University of Illinois at Chicago. His formal schooling ended and in 1960 he worked as an orderly for Wesley Hospital, now Northwestern Memorial in Chicago where he met the love of his life, Marjorie Segelstrom. Marjorie was head nurse at Wesley and they soon married in 1963. They were married for 50 years and had four beautiful children. Marji died in 2014.