Kostiantyn Mukhin and Eugenia Karkina operate Sunflower Ukrainian Foods, a thriving food truck business based in Arvada, Colorado. The couple fled their hometown of Kherson, Ukraine, in 2022, three months after the full-scale Russian invasion began, making the difficult decision to leave their parents behind to ensure the safety of their then-5-year-old daughter, Sofiia.
Prior to the war, Mukhin owned a financial analyst background before transitioning into the restaurant industry. Just as the war broke out, they had invested most of their savings into a new restaurant in the center of Kherson, leaving them nearly broke when they escaped. During their initial attempt to flee, the line of cars they were in came under Russian attack, but they managed to find an alternative route to Georgia. After spending three months there, they arrived in Arvada in July 2022 through the U.S. Homeland Security program “Uniting for Ukraine.”
Upon arriving in the U.S. with essentially nothing, Mukhin worked as a dishwasher while learning English. In 2023, they started Sunflower Ukrainian Foods as a food tent, and Mukhin built his first trailer in 2024. Today, the business has expanded to three food trucks that deploy to approximately 13 locations per week, including farmers markets in Arvada, Golden, Boulder, and Westminster.
Their extensive menu features traditional Ukrainian dishes such as pork and cabbage dumplings, potato pancakes with chicken and cheese, pork belly stew, home-style sausage and meatballs, chicken Kyiv, and several vegan options. They have also introduced a frozen food take-home line consisting of seven menu items.
Now 10 years old, their daughter Sofiia is growing up in a welcoming community. While the couple’s journey was marked by the trauma of war—including hiding in basements for prolonged periods and the recent passing of Mukhin’s father in Ukraine due to a lack of medical care—they express deep gratitude for the support they have received from the local community in Colorado.
