You have to stand and take the heat of the kitchen if you want to establish and run your own café in Oslo. Nicole Juvera and Jim Anthony Juvera, are both a couple and co-founders of the american Cafe Fedora in Frognerveien/Gabelsgate.
After the struggle with starting up, now it's a success, and the founders want to establish the second Fedora in Oslo.
Why did you establish the cafe?
– We started Cafe Fedora because the dining options in Oslo were so limited at the time. We moved here from New York City where the options are endless and available 24 hours a day. After living here for 3 years, we really, really missed pancakes, burritos and fried chicken. There was no one else crazy enough to do it, so we dove in head first.
Your experience with the project so far?
– Wow! We could tell you some stories! It has been a roller coaster, with extreme highs and lows, twists and turns. Nothing can truly prepare you for opening your first business especially in a foreign country where the rules are very different. Norway is not the easiest place to start a restaurant business. The rules are strict and contradicting and designed to squash newbies at every turn. There is very little to no assistance for small businesses, especially foreign-owned small business. We have really had to forge our own path with a plastic spoon. We are commonly referred to as "the crazy Americans!" It is not for the faint-hearted.
But still, you continue with the project?
– On the flipside we have met some of the most interesting people and have made lifelong friends at Cafe Fedora. Having a cafe is the best sociological and psychological experience in which one could participate. We have learned so much about human beings and what makes them tick all through food. The roles we play in the life stories of others is the most interesting part. We are there for a person's best and worst moments and everything in between! Reunions, births, loss, the exciting beginning and the sad ending of relationships, illness, puberty, life is happening around us! We have the ability to turn a person's day around for the better, and they do the same for us. Having a cafe, if one is as involved with their customers as we are, is more interesting than television and more honest than social media.
-When do you plan to open the next Fedora?
– As soon as possible! Our Frogner cafe is definitely bursting at the seams! We are looking for the right location in the right area and the right investors to help us grow. We would like to spread across Scandanavia but at a conservative pace. There is no sense in rushing into multiple locations, not if you want to last.
