Borscht café in Cambridge opened two Ukrainian women, who left the country because of the Russian’s war against Ukraine.
Lilia has been in the restaurant business for quite some time. She is a co-owner of the “Glek” restaurant in Kyiv. Lilia also launched the “Dumka” restaurant and the “Idalgo” establishment with a business partner, which “didn’t take off.” However, she considers this experience to be perhaps the most important:
“For 9 months, the restaurant operated at a loss, and we closed it. And this complex and bitter experience turned out to be very useful here, when you try to open a business in a new country. Everything is new – and you feel like starting from scratch, and you move forward slowly, step by step, like a child just learning to walk.”
Lilia flew to the UK with her younger son for personal matters a week before the invasion and decided to stay here safely. Five years ago, she studied the language by attending various language schools, all of which were in Cambridge. So consciously chose Cambridge as a world center of education.
Borscht café in Cambridge
The idea of such an establishment first occurred to Lilia many years ago. Her older son took her to Ramen vs Marketing, and the concept of the establishment impressed her:
“It was unlike anything I had seen in the restaurant business. A basement without a sign. And a bunch of people standing and happily eating ramen. Then I thought: what if they were eating not ramen, but different tasty borschts? That would be cool too. It took many years for this idea, this seed, to find the right soil and turn into a business.”
Lilia about café
Ultimately, Lilia decided to open the establishment in the UK after a conversation with her husband. He called and advised Lilia not just to wait until the war was over, but to act, to develop some plan for herself. And even if it seems too difficult at first, at least to dream. Lilia began working on the idea: “First, what I thought about was Ukrainian women. For me, they are like pearls scattered around the world. They have a lot of skills and a lot of love. But I know what stress it is to find yourself in a foreign country, to start from scratch, to feel lost. So, of course, I wanted to create a business that could create jobs for Ukrainians.
The second idea is the rebuilding of Ukraine. I have images in front of my eyes of destroyed Ukrainian cities. I know people who have lost their homes. And even if I give away half of the profit, I need to sell millions of portions of borscht, but that’s the point of the dream – to be a beacon, a star, shining in the distant horizon.
And, thirdly, I saw how much Great Britain has done for Ukrainians. How many have given shelter, how many have supported. If I’m lucky not to rely on social benefits, and I have the opportunity to do something myself, then opening a business and paying taxes here is my way of giving back to the country that has given shelter to a huge number of Ukrainians.”