Do your own thing, no matter how old you are

Naujamiestis is an odd part of Vilnius. In Soviet times, it was central yet super industrial. Now it’s hip, full of people living in lofts and coffee shops are popping up at full speed. It’s still not fully gentrified though. It might never become so - the new and the old mix rather well. Žilva’s canteen is a good example. Here, you can watch a football game, eat traditional pickled cabbage soup and have a pint or two. It’s cheap, simple, and you can meet the whole neighbourhood here over lunch.

Žilvinas is the owner of this canteen-almost-restaurant establishment. He struggled to make a living after the financial crisis in 2008 so he left Lithuania and went to look for work and a better life in the UK. Almost 10 years later, after spending his days in a cake factory and sharing a living space with 5 other people, he had enough. “You know, I just got tired from not really living. Years were passing by, I worked bloody hard, saved money like hell and at some point I asked myself - what for?”
When Žilvinas moved back to Lithuania, he opened a small kebab shop but, in his own words, he wasn’t very good at making them. What he could do though, was grandma’s style soup. So he killed the kebab shop and opened a canteen.

The lovely thing about a one-man business is the closeness you get. He remembers people’s names, what they order and sometimes Žilva will even sit at your table and eat his own dinner alongside you. He never fakes smiles or is over polite. He gets there at 5am and starts cooking. His stuff is real and when you eat the food you can really taste it.

You can read the full article in -What do people do? magazine, order at our online shop.

WORDS: RASA JUSIONYTĖ

PHOTOS: UGNĖ HENRIKO