The love of cooking brought up “Sočia lapė” in Gargždai

No magic, only great desire, effort, work, patience, stubbornness, trust and support of the closest people led to success for the young entrepreneur Skaista JOCIENE. She decided to turn her hobby of cooking into a job, and she changed her salaried job to an unfamiliar business. Three years ago, she opened the cafe “Soti lapė” in Gargždai, and recently she moved it to more spacious premises near the Gargždai market and welcomed new employees to the team.
Tasters are at home
“There are no cooks, bakers, or chefs in my family. I have always loved cooking, experimenting in the kitchen, and I found more time for that while expecting my daughter. Before that, I worked for Telia for five years. The work went well, I had a team of 15, and at one point 18 people, whom I chose myself. I gained a lot of valuable experience in the company, I met a lot of good people, by the way, I also met my husband there,” said Skaistė with a smile. Both husband and mother saw that Skaistė was not realizing herself at work, that she was missing something. Although it was not easy to decide whether to return to a guaranteed workplace after the decree, Skaistė never regretted the drastic changes in her life. A woman who likes innovations and is not afraid of trials, supported by her relatives, dived into the catering business, which she had not known before.
It all started with one bite of sandwiches one birthday. “I looked at the sandwich trays, what was put together and how, I thought I could create it too, it’s not too complicated. After a while, I tried to make one appetizer, the second, the third… There were children’s birthdays – I fed the guests, then they asked their children for their birthdays, and the circle turned. A hobby became a job”, Skaistė recalled the beginning of the business idea. There are enough tasters at home – husband Donatas and daughters – 10-year-old Gabija and 4-year-old Viltė. Skaistė said that with their help she even created a set of snacks for children, because her daughters are the best at judging what children like.
Not from frozen produce
Three years ago, S. Jocienė opened the cafe “Soti lapė” in Gargždai. According to Skaistė, the beginning of the business was very difficult. “People are afraid to change, to experiment, to come and taste. When we set up on Minija Street, there were very few customers. However, Klaipėda residents had already tasted our one-bite sandwiches, the advertisement spread by word of mouth and spread on Facebook”, said the businesswoman and admitted that it took her three difficult years that required a lot of effort to get back on her feet. At first, they hired only one employee because there were no customers, but after a while, people appreciated the fresh and delicious food of Sočia lapes. “The appetizer recipes were created by me. It took many years, a lot of knowledge and understanding, because you have to understand the harmony of the ingredients. Recipes are made according to technological cards. In addition to the single bite sandwiches, there are other sets, one called Satusis. We take up to 4 hours to make it. We make the dough for chebureks, kibins, buns, and tortillas ourselves, maybe that’s why customers appreciate that our food is not made from frozen products, but fresh”, thought the young entrepreneur. The lunch menu of “Socias lapes” includes eight dishes, and several times more in the main menu. Vegetarians can also find something to eat in this cafe, but the needs of vegans cannot be met yet.
Barely able to turn
According to Skaistė, the most difficult thing was probably in the past, when there was a lot of uncertainty, lack of experience and clients. After starting production at “Socija Lapė” with two people, after some time she hired another employee. When they settled in the premises of the former “Auksinis liūtos” near Gargždai market, the team was already six, because the number of customers is increasing – now they feed 300 a day.
Looking for employees is quite a headache for an entrepreneur. 15 people were interested in the job offer on Facebook, of which Skaistė chose two, and then turned to the Employment Service: “It’s terrible, what’s happening, people come just to wear a plus sign that they participated in a job interview, and they could continue to sit at home and receive benefits. In my opinion, 80 percent of them are.” Nevertheless, the team was assembled, but now one more chef is needed.
Skaistė dreams boldly – her business will grow and improve in the future. She is very happy with the employees she started with and the new ones: “I’m happy that they are all of different ages, experiences, and personalities. I am interested in communicating with them, learning together. And they can teach me, and I teach what I expect from them. It is also important for me that the employees feel good.” The woman noticed that the new employees were very surprised that Skaistė also works in the kitchen. The team made sure that the director does not divide tasks into black and white: if the toilet needs to be flushed – she will wash it, the table needs to be cleaned – she will clean it, the steak needs to be cooked – she will cook it. “I am a director only on paper, and here I am all that is required of me,” concluded Skaistė. She constantly communicates with customers who have requests, observations, to which the businesswoman does not raise her hand, on the contrary, she tries to find out what is missing in “Satiated Fox”, if a person gets up and leaves after looking at the menu.

Questions about the title
“Many people ask if we have anything to do with the “Sotus vilkas” cafe. Not really, I don’t even know the owner. It seems, except for the fact that we also have very large portions. It’s better for a person to overeat, but not stay hungry”, Skaistė smiled when asked about the name of the cafe. The Fox, the character of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “The Little Prince” that she first read as a child, became part of the name of her cafe by chance. “I have read that book more than ten times. As a child, I read it like a fairy tale, but now I understand it differently, I read it with deep thoughts, with deep meanings”, admitted Skaistė, who also bought “The Little Prince” for her daughter. The entrepreneur wanted to name the cafe “Lapė snapė”, but the company was already registered with that name in the Registry Center, so she was offered to choose either a rich or a golden fox. Since there was already a “Golden Lion” in Gargždai, they chose “Sočias lapė”.
A bigger puzzle than the cafe’s name three years ago was its location. Skaistė, who settled in Šiūpariai with her family 6 years ago, remembers with a smile her move from the port city, where she lived for 10 years: “I was very categorical and for a long time I thought that we would move, live in the countryside for a while, and I would talk my husband back to Klaipėda. But the quarantine started, my little daughter was born, we had the opportunity to go out without restrictions in the yard without masks, fresh air, places for walks and I started to like it a little bit.” Gargžda streets and people. Due to the distance from home, it was decided to open the cafe in Gargždai, and not in Klaipėda. “I have never once regretted choosing Gargždus. I know a lot of different people – I am very communicative, I need to talk to everyone, ask how they are doing, and I am happy to be in Gargždai. Now it seems that I should have been here all the time”, said Skaistė, who comes from Pagėgiai, from Nemunas, frankly.
Laima ŠVEISTRYTĖ
Author’s photo.