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We first meet Mrs. Irena trying her dishes: cold sandwiches and then kebabs and fried chicken fillets. I must admit that everything tastes very good, and the hostess herself attracts with her pleasant smile and good humor.
Being retired is tiring
So how did it happen that a food cart with several outdoor tables and chairs appeared right next to Ms. Irena’s house?
Irena laughs: “Prehistory was like this: when it was time to retire, I thought it was time to go out and relax. He had another business: we exchanged groceries, we sold it, I thought we had been in that trade for a long time, about 27 years, since we regained independence.
I stayed at home for a year and was so scared, I got so old during those years, I lacked communication so much … At first I called, to help someone, to explain, something else, it was like nothing. But after half a year, those calls were silenced, so how to be here? He was not used to it and there was a great lack of social communication ”.
The woman says that she has begun to consider what she would like to drink. It is no secret that the pension was no longer that high, I wanted to add more.
I stayed at home for a year and I was so scared, I got so old during those years, I was so lacking in communication …
“We haven’t messed with my husband yet, that’s what we think – let’s do a small business, we’ll contribute a little to retirement, there will be movement, there will be people. We will need someone again, it will be interesting to live again. That, you know, and we get started. For me, this is a completely new area here. We parked a food cart near the house. And what to produce faster? Kebabs! ”Irena said about the beginning.
Julius Kalinskas / 15min photo / Kebab wagon
You make the sauces yourself
Until then, Irena had tried kebabs, but she had never prepared them herself and was not a big fan of this dish. So he went to study the kebab of a family girl in Kaunas. And now you are trying to make your kebabs as tasty and healthy as possible.
For example, the sauces are made by yourself, even two of his employees, who have been working almost since the opening of the kebab, do not trust him. She says she tries to extract the flavor only from natural herbs.
In summer, Irena grows herbs and vegetables in her garden, because the plot next to the house is huge, there is a place to grow it.
My goal was not to make a lot of money. My goal was to contribute to retirement to some degree, but no less important is the process itself: work, communicate.
When asked if it would be worth expanding the business and opening at least one more car in Kėdainiai, Irena shook her head sternly. She is not planning any development because, as she says, she does not want to burden – now this little business gives her pleasure, and if there were at least one more car, there would be a second set of problems.
“My goal was not to make a lot of money or anything like that. My goal was to contribute a little towards retirement, which of course is the most important thing. But the process itself is no less important: work, communicate ”, admits the active woman.
Food is creativity
Irena does not hide that she worked hard all her life; In his youth, while working in the Soviet Botanical Garden during the Soviet era, he still grew tulips and sold them.
Then they came other times, according to Kėdainiai, so they and her husband decided to have a drink and work for themselves.
“I enjoyed trading all my life, because my mother was also involved in those activities, I really liked it. We came up with the idea that we needed to open a grocery store. Initially, we made ice cream, we had a machine, and we made that soft ice cream with great success. After that, we expanded a bit and became a grocery store, ”Irena said of the old business.
Julius Kalinskas / 15min photo / Kebab wagon
Food, he says, is a kind of creation:
“I really like to improvise. Here’s a kebab with salmon; I almost guarantee that no one in Lithuania produces it. I had the idea to do it differently than everyone else does.
This is how the idea of food came about: what you can create, improvise, do there. Very funny young people coming, regulars, thank you, praise. Of course, there are those who may not like everything. “
Pečiulis did not need to borrow to start this business. Irena says there was enough savings because she sold the previous business and grew and sold cucumbers, like a large part of the residents of Kėdainiai.
So we thought differently, and then we decided that if it was 65, that it was “Food65”, we will know when we start working.
Influence from day one
The lack of customers in the food cart could not complain from day one – already during the opening, the crowd flooded, which was surprising, says Irena.
She remembers with a smile and thought of the name of the food cart:
“Yes, we think differently, and then we decide – what to think here, if I’m 65, make it” Food65 “, we’ll know when we start working, it will be easier to count.”
Originally offering diners only kebabs and sandwiches, now Irena already has a more extensive menu, making custom sandwich sets that include meat, fish, seafood and vegetable dough. You can also find black balls in such a plate. It is a toasted cheese that seduces not only with an exotic appearance, but also with a great flavor.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15 min photo / Food produced by Irena Pečiulienė from Kėdainiai
On certain occasions, the kits are designed specifically for that day. Let’s say Christmas or Halloween.
“I really like it when I can do something new,” Irena smiled.
I recovered because during the years I was at home it was hard, at first as if nothing, and then getting up, dusting, the same during it.
During the pandemic, the number of customers in the food cart decreased somewhat; there were no students leaving school and they used to come here to enjoy fries, meatballs or kebabs.
However, Irena is not inclined to complain about the lack of work: she managed to stay with the two employees, pay taxes, although sometimes, as Irena says, there is not much left for her.
However, the woman admits to having earned a second pension, so she has no regrets when starting this business.
“I recovered, because during the years I was at home, it was hard, at first I eat nothing, and then he gets up, dusts himself, the same during it. He was morally tired, he was very depressed. Even if the grandchildren live behind the fence, it is not the same ”, he admits.
This is not the only kebab in Kėdainiai, there are several more, but Irena, who has been working in this field for almost two years, does not emphasize competition.
“Everybody makes good kebabs, but at least we think we are the best,” Irena said.
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