The background

F: I remember when I, as a seventeen year old kid wearing one of dads suit jackets and a false id, saw you the first time working in a bar in the early nineties. You and the other girl working there were the ultimate of cool. I don’t remember the name of the place as it has changed name so many times after that. But could this have been your first gig or how did it all start?

V: I started to work at Pigalle(the most classic lunch restaurant in Gävle) already when I was studying in the gymnasium. I was doing the dishes every Sunday at Pigalle. There were many other places were I also did the dishes, places like for example Drugstore and the nightclub Dollhouse. I worked anywhere they wanted me and I did all kind of work.

F: Oh, you started that early in the restaurant business. Have you had time to try any other professions?

V: Yes, I dropped out of school at the last year and started a fashion store.

F: What!!? We have known each other for over 20 years and this is the first time we hear about this. You need to tell us everything.

V: Well, to keep it short, below the men’s clothing store Herr City, the basement was free to rent. I was really tired of school and thought that it was a giant opportunity. So I, dropped out of school, borrowed my mothers car and drove to Paris to shop clothes for the store.

F: Wait a minute, in the late eighties, at the age of 18, before gps was invented, you drove to Paris to shop what is called cash and carry. How is that possible, how did you know about it and what did your mum think?

V:  Before I opened my store Galaxy, I was a regular shopper at a store called Diddis. I started to hang out with the owner and his wife, he had an origin from Marocco and when I followed them to a fashion fair in Stockholm, he introduced me to his relatives who ran a whole sale company in Paris. That’s how I knew about the cash & carry blocks in the suburbs of Paris. So, I packed the car full with clothes and shoes and drove back to Sweden. And my mum wasn’t super pleased.

F: You make it sounds so easy, when it’s not 😉 For how long was Galaxy up and running?

V: Approximately about 2 years and after that I bought an existing shoe store called Anderssons skor that I also operated for.a couple of years. I really love clothes and shoes, so it was a fun time.

The first nightclub/restaurant

F: But it’s not for your contribution in the fashion business you are well known. It is for the many different types of restaurants you have owned. Which one was the first you opened?

V: The first one I opened together with a partner was BCK. I was the restaurant manager for the previous owner of the location, when it was called Planet. And when Planet filed for bankruptcy, I saw my opportunity to buy a place that I was very familiar with and together with a partner that also had worked at the place. I was 33 and had over 16 years of experience from different positions in the restaurant business. So, the stars were aligned in the right position.

We were lucky as BCK quickly became very popular. The queues were massive and our place was packed almost every weekend. At the upper floor, BCK introduced house & trance in a way nobody had done before in Gävle, it had a commercial music floor at entrance level and in the basement a casino and a rock bar.

F: . It became so popular that you after only 2 years got an offer you couldn’t refuse. So, you sold it and after just a couple of months opened an almost as popular restaurant/bar in Östermalm Stockholm, Viola. How was that possible, the differences must have been huge?

V: Yes, but the success for Viola was not immediate. In advance, we thought it was going to be tough, but it was 100 times worse. After six months of disaster we realized that it didn’t matter how nice the place looked or how good food or drinks we served. It was all about getting the right crowd. This was way before smart phones, influencers and digital food critics. We understood that we needed someone with a lot of contacts. As a stroke of luck at a dinner with some friends in Stockholm, I explained and complained about all of this to exactly the right guy. He was handling the security for the royal family and knew everyone worth knowing. After a few days he returned to me with a list containing 3 names and said: – Hire these 3 and the place will be full. So, we contacted and convinced these 3 to start working with us and after that the place was full 🙂

F: What a guy!! It sounds crazy that someone could have that kind of insight. But lucky for you.

Back to Gävle

F: After a couple of successful years, with Viola being the number one place for both royalties and brats, you sold it and moved back to Gävle. As you decided to move back and start restaurants here again, can we assume that it’s better in Gävle?

V: For me, Gävle is the place to live in. Stockholm is amazing for a while and I learned so many valuable things that I have used when opening my other places. But Stockholm is tough and incredible shallow, especially around Stureplan where we ran our restaurant. People changed perception about each other and what was good or bad over one night. So, it’s not for me. I really like the comforting feeling in Gävle. Everyone of my friends in Stockholm who came to visit, were astounded about the feeling all my Gävle friends had with each other. They really loved that everyone felt so close and that the city was extremely pleasant to visit.

F:  Oh yes, oh yes! We are nice here 🙂

F: After your return you opened up a sport bar(Allstar), then a nightclub(Olivia) and now in present time you are the owner of one of Swedens best wine bars(Verovin) and a bistro(Tullhuset). Of all the different kind of nightlife venues you have owned, which is your favourite place?

V: I really love nightclubs, both running them and going to them. I actually feel sorry for the younger crowd in Gävle, that they don’t have any good club to go to now. So, I would like to say one of the nightclubs, but I won’t, hahaha. Because the absolute optimal place was Viola. It was a really nice restaurant with good food, amazing drinks, perfect service and then it also became like a small club late at night, without being a real club. I loved it!

F: I understand that, because Viola was really nice.

F: It feels like you always have street awareness, opening up the right type of place at the right time and that you surround yourself with the right people. That you together with these people create great things. It’s not easy to find good staff. So, do you have good personal knowledge and how do you get your staff to flourish?

V: It might depend on that I always have to feel something for the people I hire. They need to become close to me and we need to trust each other. Because I’m very determined about how I want things to be at my places. Maybe the staff flourish when they feel a mutual trust and they dare to become something bigger. I don’t know, but it’s nice to hear that you have noticed it.

The personality

F: You are getting both praise and criticism, mostly praises that you are so straight forward. That you don’t take shit from anyone. If someone behaves like an idiot they will hear it. Is this something you have felt that you had to develop as a female restaurateur or is it something that always have been with you?

V: As a women it’s not easy to make your way as an owner in the restaurant/nightclub business. You need to toughen up and get som thick skin. But me, being straight forward is nothing I have developed, it’s in my persona. I would like to be able to speak out when someone is doing things that I don’t like and to be honest against everybody I meet. Do I want to feel like an honest person or do I want to sell myself to any price to get success? The answer is easy: – I will never play an act for someone for them to become my guest.

F: There are many young girls and boys who has their first job in the restaurant business. And many of them, especially the girls, thinks that you are super cool and look up to you. Do you feel like a role-model?

V: I know that many do, as they have approached me when I’ve been out on bars. They are so cute telling me this. I think it’s very strange as I don’t see myself as a role-model, but I get super happy to hear it. I hope that it depends on that I dare to stand my ground and be the most honest version of myself. And seeing me succeed perhaps make them believe in themselves, so they will follow their dreams.

The best party night

F: When we have someone who have dedicated her life to the nightlife. We need to ask, which is your best and worst party night?

V: Ohh, that is a really difficult question as I have had so many good nights and I would say not any bad ones. But the worst place I have visit, or stood outside as I refused to enter, was Grabbarna Grus in Magaluf. I looked inside and wondered how people could have fun in there, it was horrible. When it comes to the best night out, it’s all about the company. With the right company I can have fun almost everywhere. But if I with the right company also visit a great nightclub, the night often becomes epic. And I have a really strong memory of when we went to Opium in Miami. It was amazing!

F: How should a person behave when they are visiting a restaurant?

V: My opinion is that everyone should be themselves when they are out dining, as long as they are showing respect to other people. I think that people should relax and enjoy themselves and that they don’t have to put up an act. That they have the integrity to say what they like and don’t like. I want to hear what they think about what we have served. So that we know why they liked or why not they didn’t like the dish. I don’t want people to tell me what they think I want to hear. There is no development in that.

F: If there were no economic boundaries, how would the place of your dreams look like?

V: It’s funny, because I immediately thought about a night club. A club looking similar as Studio 54, with balconies, huge dance floor, big sofa groups and high ceilings. With a crowd that dress to be seen and that wants to stand out from the normality. A place that celebrates creativity and uniqueness. That stands out as a safe zone where you can be yourself. With a strict cellphone ban policy!

F: Do you have any new exiting plans for the future?

V: Yes, I have something planned and if all pieces comes together it will be a really exiting venue. But the time frame is about 3 years from now.

F: Interesting 🙂

F: And to finish this interview, it’s now time for the 5 quick questions:

Football or hockey? Hockey
House or trance? House
Bordeaux or Bourgogne? Bourgogne
Snaps or Slivovits? Slivovits
Stureplan or Stortorget? Stureplan