On the closed Vilniaus street in Kaunas, he works as he knows, even offering lunch to the builders. Deal

In the summer, Vilniaus Street was simply revived: a pedestrian path furnished with outdoor terraces, stretching for almost a kilometer and leading to the heart of the city, the Town Hall Square, was full of people. Now only emits noise from excavation and road maintenance machinery.

The floor is dug, underground communications are changed into deep trenches. Some of the local traffic is expected to be restored only in the winter, and the complete renovation of the street should be completed by the summer of next year.

Some approach, others seek alternatives

How are entrepreneurs going through this forced closure, even before it has been quarantined? In different ways. Currently, there are several cafes or bakeries on Vilniaus Street. All have access from the other side or patios. One of the tables was even placed in the corridor, the other restaurant can be reached by walking inside the church.

“I think it is better to close and not work than to work with one leg and the other broken.” 15 minutes it is said the owner of a bar in Vilniaus street.

I think it is better to be silent and not work than to work with one foot and the other broken.

For some companies that decided to close their doors, this decision was easier: if they have other “points” in the city, you will stay away from them. The most difficult for those entrepreneurs whose catering establishments on Vilniaus Street started only this year or is the only operating place of their business in Kaunas.

Be that as it may, everyone hopes that the rebuild will be completed on time, as promised. However, this year it is more convenient to close the door than next, when Kaunas will become the European Capital of Culture, where many guests will gather and many festive events are planned.

From desserts only to lunch menu

After walking down the excavated Vilniaus Street, his eyes are closed behind the advertisement in a cafe window; here the workers who carry out the reconstruction are invited from 11 am to 2 pm

This is how the Cremiu food and dessert house, which has been operating here since autumn 2019, reacted to the change in situation.

Until then, its owner Agnė Alminaitė, who had only made artisan sweets, finally realized that it was also necessary to bring food. The closure of Vilniaus Street has further changed its business profile: the cafe is open exclusively for lunch, and desserts are made by pre-order only.

“I myself grew up on Vilniaus Street. And now I live here. Initially, when the love for pastry was born, he had a place on J. Naugardo street, after work he made desserts according to orders. I kept walking through the old town and kept looking at the rooms where my dessert is currently. For whatever reason, it was difficult for companies there, I don’t know why. But I’m not afraid of that, “said Agnė, 35, who started the story of his coffee.

In the fall of 2019, she started with just cakes and coffee, but she soon realized that people still needed more serious meals. After the first quarantine, Agnė herself stood by the stove and started preparing the weekend brunch, and now Benedict’s eggs are still the most popular dish.

He offered lunch to the workers.

Since the reconstruction of Vilniaus Street has been discussed for several years and has not started in any way, in the spring of 2021, after the end of the quarantine, Agnė started preparing food every day and hired a chef for it. .

“It just came to our knowledge then. I got nervous. Perhaps only those who were not open after the quarantine did not respond, waiting a lot for that reconstruction. It is not cheap because it is their personal premises. Others may have other” points “in the city , And there are some that only reopened on July 1!

I had to think about what to do. A quick response was necessary. So to save the employee, because the good is hard to find, I would think that maybe a daily lunch could be provided to the workers doing the rebuilding. Still asked how many of them will work here roughly, I answered around 30-50.

When the construction sites boiled over, I asked the builders themselves where they were eating. One replied that he brings food from home, ”Agnė said, how the idea was born, assuring that maybe 5-6 places are currently trying to work on Vilnius Street without it.

Is that if those street workers come? It turns out that they appear, but they are constant, only two, they dine at Cremiu every day. Agnė’s brother brings a colleague for lunch, a neighbor comes; Every day, the café receives up to 10 customers during those 3 hours.

When the construction sites boiled over, I asked the builders themselves where they were eating.

When asked who was a regular before the street closure, the interviewee reassured the women. They always made up about 80 percent. all fucking.

“That’s why we had to start making salads, because in the spring, customers start to stick to the lines. You won’t be attracted just to desserts, laughed Agnė. – My cafe is decorated with flowers, roses, anyway. so not all men dare to go with women. He shook his head saying that we really would not go here. Of course, I also bought plates of different colors, because men would not like to drink coffee in a pink cup “, said the interlocutor.

Some admire, others anger

Agnė’s dessert has always been featured prominently and received various reviews.

First, he “jumped” when he unknowingly painted the exterior facade pink, an obstacle for architects, because it is forbidden to do so in the old town, a certain color must prevail. We had a quick fix.

“I kept going to the municipality and I explained that probably more people were taking photos near my pink building than near the Cathedral. The Chinese especially liked to stop, ”said Agnė.

Later, he received reprimands from a well-known Lithuanian florist, Mantas Petruškevičius, who publicly accused Agnė of plagiarism, a facade supposedly richly decorated with flowers.

“He named the café in Vilnius, but neither she nor Mantas were my inspiration. I saw the idea in London: a pink building with flowers. That beautiful! Cakes, dessert is sweet, ”explained Agnė, whose cafe has capacity for about 20 customers.

Did the bright exterior and interior details entice the customer to buy? The pastry shop assured that people taking photos at the entrance would visit her, praised that she was beautiful, but generally did not buy anything.

“I change the decorations every time. I also combine colors. There were women who said: kitsch, but for me this is what I really wanted. The most serious architects don’t understand me much either ”, laughed the interlocutor.

Due to the colors and decoration elements, people like to celebrate and celebrate personal parties in the Agnė cafe, especially because of the expectation of a baby: 10 girls visited during the closed month.

Some customers used to visit the cafe and because of the pink cockatoo parrots that Agnė grows here, she will be spending time at home this year.

He didn’t think about closing the door

Comparing the profits before the pandemic and now, after the closure of Vilniaus Street, the turnover, according to Agnė, decreased even without being clear how many times.

When asked if he had not thought of knocking on the door, Agnė assured him that he had not. However, Cremiu is a dream come true. The job is done, you don’t want to take everything and give it up, create something anew somewhere.

I really want to survive because I put all my heart in this cafe.

“I opened without a business strategy, I didn’t think about when it would be worth it for me, or when it would be worth it at all. I just did what I wanted, ”Agnė confirmed.

What saves this cafe is that it has access from the other side.

“I really want to survive because it seems that I have put all my heart in this cafe. She is so cute to me. They don’t want to leave here and they also managed to reach an agreement with the landlords: they reduced the rent during the rebuild. Now I manage the outdoor terraces, I hope the cold weather can invite people, ”said the owner of the cafe.

Committed as he knows

How 15 minutes said Ona Peičiūtė, director of the Kaunas Old Town Society, at first the Vilnius Street businessmen reacted very emotionally to the closure: a great conflict arose, then they began to consider how to live in such a situation.

“Many letters have been written about all kinds of benefits, such as property tax, but so far no responses have been received,” said O. Peičiūtė.

According to her, currently the Vilnius Street businessmen are working as they know.

“The time has come when people have realized that it is not necessary to be angry with someone, but to think well, develop strategies to survive,” conveyed the head of the society the general mood.