Gargždais is the first cafe with a children’s play area

“We wanted people to feel at home, where it’s warm and cozy” – this is how the founder’s mother Eglė STONKUVIENĖ and daughter Deimantė STONKUTĖ-GRUNOVĖ describe the cafe “2 sukre” with a children’s play area before the big holidays. Her “Bangai” told that when the idea of ​​a cafe arose, she saw from personal experience that there is a severe lack of spaces in the service sector where the whole family could come, and where children would have plenty of activities.
The whole family contributed
Located next to the “Bulvė” canteen, in the former premises of the “Venera” beauty salon, the cafe is already enjoying regular customers, as it is the first such space in Gargždai. D. Stonkutė-Grunovė, who moved from Palanga to Gargžda with her husband and 2 children, said that during this time Gargžda has changed a lot, become more beautiful. “The first impression was that it is very confusing here. There is actually one main street here, but I didn’t even understand navigation then. After moving in, we started walking, we were impressed by the Minija Valley, it can definitely be developed. Probably, no city gets organized as quickly as Gargždai”, shared the first impressions of the cafe’s co-founder and general practice nurse.
According to Deimantė’s mother E. Stonkuvienė, it took even 3 months to look for premises after the idea of ​​a cafe came up. After seeing the advertisement that the premises of the former beauty salon were for rent, they immediately inspected them and, after discussing with the family, signed the contract. “Repair work followed throughout the summer and autumn, and in November – document management, we worked in the evenings and on days off,” recalled Deimantė’s mother Eglė. The founders of the cafe were happy that when looking for help, both the District Municipality and the Gargždai Consumer Cooperative, which owns the premises, communicated kindly and tried to help.
“During the renovation, there were also funny situations, for example, gray, red, green colors could be seen when looking at the walls, and in the toilet, the walls were decorated with blue pebbles. It took us a very long time to remove them, because they were glued and were peeling off the entire wall (laughs – author’s post)”, shared D. Stonkutė-Grunovė.
Bangai businesswomen said that there were no major difficulties, the work went smoothly, but the lighting and heating were a concern. “The rooms here were cool, we were worried about what to do to keep it warm. But when all the equipment is connected, it’s really very warm here”, said D. Stonkutė-Grunovė.
Priority is given to mothers and children
The initiative women shared that the idea of ​​the cafe itself came first – it was dreamed up by Deimantė’s mother, Eglė. It was originally supposed to be of a different nature, but based on personal experience.
“I have 2 children, and going to a cafe with them is very difficult. When my daughter was little, I used to feel uncomfortable entering a cafe with a stroller because it would disturb the staff or visitors. In some places, it is not possible to enter with a wheelchair at all. More than once I was asked to take the stroller because it was in the way, so I had to leave it outside. And there was a lack of food places that have a children’s area. In Palanga, we were used to larger spaces for children,” said Deimantė.
E. Stonkuvienė seconded her, stating that even now mothers leave their strollers outside out of habit: “When mothers come, they leave their strollers outside out of habit, we encourage them to bring them in, because it’s snowing, it’s raining, you won’t put your child in a wet one.”
When planning the cafe spaces and the children’s play area, there was a free room, so Deimantė and Eglė considered expanding the children’s area or installing a windowsill with chairs and extending the cafe area. However, it was decided to install a room for mother and child, where the mother could change or feed the offspring. “We also bought a comfortable armchair for this, because nursing mothers also come, they need to sit down comfortably and lean on themselves.” We paid a lot of attention to children, mothers, all this – from personal experience. We wanted the people who came to feel at home, so that nothing was missing”, said E. Stonkuvienė.
The children’s space was planned by Deimantė, and everything was done by the hands of the family. Deimantė and her sister drew animals on the wall, Deimantė’s husband Karolis installed a slide, and a bench in the cafe space. Both the smallest and older children and teenagers can find activities here – there is a cozy corner, table football and board games.
The name was hidden in everyday life
When asked how the name of the cafe came about, D. Stonkutė-Grunovė revealed that she repeated it often without even realizing it. “When we drink tea, coffee, we often add 2 sugars, that’s why the name came about, because I keep saying to myself, “You want to add 2 sugars?” I showed it to others, but my husband didn’t like it very much. But the sisters were in favor, we started using it and stuck to it,” said the cafe’s founder.
The cafe opened its doors for the first time a week before Christmas, but there was no official opening – that’s what the coffee supplier advised. “We received a recommendation from the supplier not to do the official opening, that way there would not be a boom in people, we could see if there were any defects and malfunctions. This recommendation worked, because we ourselves noticed what was in the way and what needed to be changed. We improve something every day”, D. Stonkutė-Grunovė told “Bangai”.
E. Stonkuvienė added that after working in trade, she has to learn everything again, currently she and her daughter work together in the cafe.
The influx of people in the cafe began after uploading a photo of the play area to social networks. The very next day, mothers visited with their friends and children. Customers agreed that such a space was sorely lacking for Gargždas. “Seniors asked if there would be space for them, but the cafe is quiet until 12 o’clock, most of the children are there from 12 to 3 p.m., in the evening there are more teenagers.” It is felt that the weather has an influence: if it’s a nice evening, more people, if it’s overcast – less”, noted D. Stonkutė-Grunovė. Mother Eglė and daughter Deimantė said that customers can buy a variety of coffee, other drinks, desserts and snacks, and there is a space for children, young people, and families.
Gabriele ČIUNKAITĖ