Located in Sarasota’s colorful downtown at 1359 Main Street, OfKors Bakery is sure to delight with its selection of treats made from scratch and with love. Owned by husband-wife team Marie and Alex Korsykov, the bakery endeavors to indulge patrons with scrumptious baked goods made with organic, high quality ingredients.
The bakery, cozy yet modern, has a warm-toned interior, complete with wood-paneled walls and sleek decor. Upon entering, guests are greeted with cheerful music and a welcoming staff. Choosing from a wide variety of baked goods, guests will likely find something to satisfy their sweet tooth. Others may look to their selection of coffee beverages, as well as soups, salads and sandwiches.
Today, we sit down with Marie Korsykov, Co-Owner.
Q:What inspired you or led to your current career?
A: My husband, Alex, comes from a family of bakers. They have a large chain in Ukraine; right now, it’s more than 30 bakers in different Ukrainian cities. Before baking goods, he tried himself in other areas, and he was pretty successful as well. My education was toward teaching. Somehow, both of us ended up baking goodies. Probably the reason is we really like to eat these things. We really like to create natural, old-fashioned in a good way, products.
Q:What is your favorite restaurant in Sarasota County, and what do you love there?
A: There are many amazing places here; it’s very hard to choose one. If you need me to name only one, I would probably name Boca.
Q:How long have you lived or worked in Sarasota County?
A: We lived in Florida for six years and Sarasota for three years. We opened this spot in Sarasota a year and a half ago.
Q:Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Sarasota County? Who would you like to see nominated as a Face of Sarasota County?
A: The main reason that I love this place is that we have many customers we personally know. We met many business owners, many other interesting people from all over the world with different destinies and life stories. I can’t name only one person. I would say to anyone who wants to come to Sarasota that it’s such a concentrated placed – it’s a small spot, but it’s so artistic, it’s so multicultural.
Q:If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: We love traveling. We try to travel as much as we can. Traveling, in my opinion, is the best way to invest your money. It’s very eye-opening, and you grow as a person when you see different places and different people. My husband’s dream is to visit Japan, but for me it’s important to see many parts of the world, so I want to visit many different places.
Q:What’s your favorite movie OR what was the first movie you remember seeing in a theatre?
A: I enjoy more serious, psychological dramas. I really like detective stories. But when I go to the theaters, I have to admit that I usually watch Marvel movies.
Q:What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: My strong belief is that you need to find what you really enjoy doing. That’s the best start, and the best motivation, in my opinion. It’s great to make money but you need to love what you’re doing. Explore yourself, try yourself in different fields.
Q:What is something on your bucket list?
A: I want to master guitar, and I want to learn languages. I speak a little bit of German, but not enough. I definitely want to learn more languages… That’s the best gymnastics for your brain.
Q:Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative: with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? Where in Sarasota County would you have lunch?
A: I would love to sit and chat with a Boca owner. I really admire them — I love their style, I love how they do business.
Q:What is your favorite thing or something unique about Sarasota County?
A: My favorite things are Ringling, Selby Gardens and the beach.
Q:(Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: Many people don’t know we are Ukrainians. I want to point that out, because I respect different cultures. It will be pleasant for me if people know where we came from and don’t confuse us with people from any other Russian-speaking country. It’s very nice to feel your own identity.
Q:What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: I’ll be very stereotypical right now, but home is where your heart lives, so “where heart lives,” if we skip an article, right?
