Women among themselves – this has been everyday life in a café in Bremen for around a month. There is no room for men in the restaurant. It’s not just the concept that’s extraordinary.
Women sit and talk inside and outside; it’s loud and cheerful. The women’s ice cream parlor in Bremen has been open for around a month. In addition to ice cream, there are various drinks, cakes, waffles and other pastries. Men are not given a seat in Café Baresha. The room is reserved for women and children. “I think that women definitely feel more comfortable here than in mixed cafés,” says owner Sumeja Zumberi. “They see it as a place of retreat.” The cafés in the Gröpelingen district are overcrowded with men.
Gastronomic establishments only for women are rare in Germany. The German Hotel and Restaurant Association Dehoga Bremen is not aware of any similar offer in the smallest federal state. The café is a special facility, says managing director Nathalie Rübsteck. She points out that many people with a history of immigration live in the Gröpelingen district and that the genders are often among themselves. “So I think it’s very good that the women there have a space for themselves to exchange ideas with each other.”
Between school, driving lessons and the café
The manager of the new women’s café in Bremen is 18 years old, goes to school and is studying for her driver’s license. At the same time, she is legally the sole owner of the Baresha women’s ice cream parlor, as she explains. Without her family, she wouldn’t be able to run the restaurant, she says openly. “It’s feasible because I get a lot of support from my parents, especially my father.” Since he has experience as a business owner, he takes care of finances and insurance, for example. Her mother helps out in the café. “I’m not alone,” says Zumberi, who is happy about the first few weeks since the opening. “I’m definitely looking forward to the days and years ahead with the business.”
The foundation stone for the Baresha women’s ice cream parlor was laid by a long-held dream of Zumberi’s father, as the owner reports. He had been thinking about opening his own ice cream parlor for a long time. After around 30 years in Germany and a lot of work, he started making plans with his family, says Zumberi. During the discussions and planning, the family realized that a normal ice cream parlor would not be the right thing, as there are already many of them in Gröpelingen.
Together they thought about what was missing in Bremen and developed the idea for a women’s ice cream parlor. “In our home country, it’s actually quite normal that there are women’s ice cream parlors,” says the 18-year-old, who, like her siblings, was born in Germany. “We are Albanians from Kosovo,” she explains. The name Baresha is intended to remind us of her roots, because here in Germany our homeland is sometimes forgotten. According to her, the Albanian word Baresha means a sheep herder – a woman who takes responsibility in several areas.
Offers just for women are not a new phenomenon
How many bars in Germany are aimed exclusively at women is unknown. There are no statistics on this, as the Dehoga Federal Association reports. Offers only for women are not a new phenomenon, writes the spokeswoman and refers to various businesses in Germany: a women’s guesthouse, a house with holiday apartments, a hotel with a breakfast salon or a shisha bar. There are also numerous “women’s cafés” run by charitable organizations – but these are not permanent catering establishments, but events aimed at refugee women, for example.
Zumberi receives a lot of popularity for her café in Bremen. The customers who are in the restaurant that day also praise the offer. There are many male-dominated spaces in Gröpelingen in particular, says a customer who is in the café for the first time. Offers only for women are therefore important. “This is a very, very good concept.”
Alternative to male-dominated spaces
Your friend sees it the same way. It is nice to have an exchange place for women and an opportunity to talk to others from the neighborhood. It’s also great that children are welcome. According to her, the café fills a gap. If men felt discriminated against by the women’s café, it was almost a little cheeky. After all, these dominated so many public spaces.
A third customer reports that she often comes to the café with her friends or sisters. “I think it’s nice that it’s just for women,” she says. “I feel better here, more comfortable, undisturbed.” Women also need some distance from men.
Owner Zumberi is happy about such feedback, but also has other plans for her future. Her next dream is to become a teacher. She says she would then run the ice cream parlor on the side.
