Women-only cafe owned by German teen offers ice cream, cake and ‘a place of retreat.
There is a happy sound of loud chatter coming from a women-only ice cream parlour in Bremen, Germany. It is busy and bustling, even though it has only just opened.
As well as ice cream you can get drinks, cakes, waffles and other tasty snacks.
What Café Baresha lacks is men, as it is solely for women and children.
“I think that women definitely feel more comfortable here than in mixed cafes,” says owner Sumeja Zumberi. “They see it as a place of retreat.” Other local cafes are overrun by men, she says.
Places reserved for women are rare in Germany and in Bremen, the nation’s smallest federal state, there are no similar establishments.
The cafe is a special institution, says managing director Nathalie Rübsteck. Many women and men in Bremen’s Gröpelingen district, having come to Germany from countries where separation between sexes is more pronounced, already socialise in separate spaces, she says.
“That’s why I think it is very good that women have a space of their own there to exchange ideas,” she says.
Zumberi, the 18-year-old owner of the new women’s cafe, is still in high school and is currently preparing for her driving test.
She is the sole legal owner of the Baresha women’s ice cream parlour, although she admits she could not run the business without her family.
It is possible because I get a lot of support from my parents, especially my father,” she says. An experienced business owner, he handles the finances and insurance while her mother helps out in the cafe.
“I’m not alone,” says Zumberi, who is satisfied with progress so far, just weeks since she opened her establishment. “I’m definitely looking forward to the days and years ahead with the business.”
Zumberi’s father had dreamed of opening a cafe like Baresha.
He had long toyed with the idea of opening his own ice cream parlour and, after working many jobs in his 30 years in Germany, he started making plans with his family, Zumberi says.
At some point in their discussions, they realised that they needed something different as the area has a slew of regular ice cream parlours.
After mulling what was missing in Bremen, they came up with the idea of a women’s ice cream parlour.
Where I come from, it is actually quite normal for there to be women’s ice cream parlours,” says Zumberi, who was born in Germany like her siblings.
“We come from the Balkans, we are Albanians from Kosovo,” she explains.
She says the name Baresha is to remind her of her roots, because here in Germany, she sometimes forgets where she comes from.
An Albanian word, baresha refers to a shepherdess – a woman who takes on responsibility in several areas.
Germany has no statistics for the number of bars and restaurants nationwide that cater exclusively to women, but a spokeswoman for the German Hotel and Restaurant Association says the idea is not new.
She cites a women-only guest house, a women-only house with holiday apartments and a women-only hotel with a breakfast room and shisha bar.
Many charities also run women’s cafes, though these are typically events for women, such as refugees, rather than permanent dining establishments.
Zumberi’s cafe has gone down a treat in Bremen, with women praising its offerings.
Spaces just for women are important as there are a lot of male-dominated spaces in the Gröpelingen area, says a customer visiting the cafe for the first time. “It is a very, very good concept.”
Her friend agrees, welcoming a space where women can meet and chat with others from the neighbourhood. She is happy that children are also welcome here.
The cafe fills a gap in the community, she says, adding it would be a bit cheeky for men to feel discriminated against by the women’s cafe as they dominate so many public spaces.
A third customer says she often comes to the cafe with her friends or sisters. “I think it is nice that it is just for women,” she says. “I feel better, more comfortable, undisturbed here.” She adds that women also need some distance from men.
Zumberi is thrilled by the feedback, but she also has other plans for her future.
Her next dream is to become a teacher – meaning she would run the ice cream parlour on the side.
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