BOULDER, Colo. — This year, the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse celebrates its 25th anniversary, but that's only since it opened.
The journey for this Boulder, Colorado landmark really began a decade earlier.
Starting in 1987, the capital city of Tajikistan began to ship more than 200 crates with the parts for a Persian-style teahouse to the U.S. It was constructed as a gift for its "sister city" of Boulder, Colorado.
"The people of Tajikistan are very warm," said Chef Lenny Martinelli. "We knew we were going to get it, but we actually didn't even know what a Persian tea house [was] - or what this tea house was going to look like."
Martinelli is the owner and executive chef of Three Leaf Concepts, an award-winning restaurant group that includes Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, where Ryan Finney works as the executive chef.
In the above story, you can hear more about its long trek to become a beloved pillar of Boulder culture, as well as see its beautiful architecture, crafted by 40 Tajik artisans.
