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The Work We Do: Joanne Cosonas, Agora The Little Greek Market

Hello, I’m Joanne Cosonas, owner of Agora The Little Greek Market in Mattituck. 

We’ve been here for three years. My husband and I moved out from Nassau County to Wading River five years ago and decided to open this little specialty market. When I went shopping out here I found that there was nowhere to buy Greek items. So we decided to do this and it’s been fun.

One day, my husband, Tony Medina, and I were taking a ride out here and I saw this bare storefront. I said, “That’s it, I’m taking you out of retirement and we’re opening a shop.” So that’s how it came about.

Seven months or so later, we were up and running. It was just our third anniversary July 3.

We’ve met a lot of interesting people. The community seems to appreciate it and it’s been a great experience so far. We have a lot of fun conversations with people, a lot of debates.

Our specialties are sweets, which we bring in from Astoria. We sell a lot of feta, five different types. We also have olives, an assortment of Greek groceries, gifts, many of which are imported from Greece. Some of my jewelry is from Greece as well as some from Turkey. We have some olive wood products made in Lesvos. These are just products I feel you can’t find in your usual supermarket or just the area in general.

I was formerly in the fashion business. My husband was an accountant with Con Edison, so it’s a big change from what we were doing, but it has been very enjoyable.

I’m Greek and my husband is Hispanic. My mom is from the island of Lesvos, and my dad was American-born but his family is from the same island that my mother is from. Lesvos is the third-largest island in the Aegean Sea, very close to the coast of Turkey.

I think my favorite part of the job is filling a void in the community.

There is a tremendous Greek community out here, particularly during the summer months, and we meet a lot of very interesting people.

“The Work We Do” is a Suffolk Times multimedia project profiling workers on the North Fork. It is made possible by Peconic Landing. See more photos on Instagram @thesuffolktimes.