A guest of Pola and Michal: Just like at BABA

Now, Pola and Michał - how did it all start?

Michał: "We were thinking about going abroad and, by chance, a friend from Leipzig recommended that we come here because it's a cool city - with lots of interesting people and an alternative scene. So we decided to give it a try. Pola had always dreamed of having her own café with a gallery. We decided that we couldn't wait any longer."

And where did the idea for the space in Georg-Schwarz-Straße come from?

Michał: "The people from the local house projects (an initiative where you can renovate old buildings yourself or with the help of subsidies and use them at a lower rent, editor's note) organized a competition because they had a space to give away. We also took part but only came second and didn't get the building. However, the people from the house project liked our idea so much that they gave us a tip for a room to buy right next door. But beware - the condition was deplorable and we had to renovate it from scratch - there wasn't even a shop window - it was just messy and chaotic. It used to be an aquarium store and even had a cool fish in the logo (Pola laughs and dreams of getting it back - she's famous for her great vegan fish). The staff from the house project also helped us apply for the grant. And that's what we did. The opening still took place without a shop window, there was a huge hole in the floor to the basement. We renovated the house for 1.5 years - in the meantime we raised a child and I went to work. Until we managed it."

What were your beginnings?

Michał: "We opened Baba in 2019 - the first year was like the first year is, and then came corona. But it helped that we were able to sell our products as part of the Saturday market in the Plawitzer Markthalle: Piroggen, pickled vegetables in a jar that (really!) taste like fish, meat or cheese. We were also happy to take part in the hayai initiative, when we took turns with other restaurants to cook the lunch menu directly in the market hall in Plagwitz."

What is the BABA concept?

Pola: "First of all, we don't want to make money from animals, so everything in our house is vegan. We also want to sell works by artists and small artisans. When we travel, we look for different interesting contacts that we then bring here. At the moment (in March, when the article was written, editor's note), the pictures of our friend Ania are still hanging on the walls, in April it will be the beautiful pictures of Michał's brother and in May we want to show photographs by an artist from Ukraine".

And where does the name BABA come from?

Pola: "When Gaia was little, we always asked her what the place should be called. The answer was BABA. Because baba simply means grandmother in children's language". After all, the restaurant is guarded by a large sculpture of a wooden Baba, which stands right next to the door, and a statue of Mary with a black and red painted face watches over the bar on the counter.