ETAPA
Tell us, how did you create Etapa? What kind of processes did you go through?
It wasn’t something that we had dreamt of for a long time. We weren’t particularly happy after many years working in IT and we discovered this place just around the corner from our apartment. We knew we could build something there.
It was all new for us as we didn’t have any background in gastronomy. But we put our hearts and common sense into it. We used our know-how in UX and marketing to build a place where all our guests would feel welcome. When we were building our team we didn’t really care about great gastronomy CVs. All they had to have was kindness, enthusiasm and a love for people and of course for food and drinks .-).
What was the most challenging thing whilst you were establishing Etapa?
To create an atmosphere that felt like you were at home, amongst friends. We valued everyone’s opinion and we tried to do our best for our people.
Where does the name come from?
It means something like “a period of time” in Czech. Perhaps we could say era. We were thinking about the name and Gabi said it is a new “etapa” (an era of our life) and then we knew that’s it.
How would you describe Etapa’s atmosphere? What did you focus on when you were creating it?
Our guests should feel like being at home with friends for dinner. That’s our mantra and when you realise that you always know how to react to every situation.
What is your most popular food?
Spicy scrambled eggs. It is the very first recipe on our blog. It started our blog and it did the same for our bistro.
As food bloggers, what are the advantages and disadvantages of having a real place that allows you to show off your taste? How did you decide on your menu?
We were hidden behind social media and our blog. We want to get it out there. To see if people like it. Smiles on their faces when you bring the food is something priceless. We don’t have such a big follow but shared our journey. People liked it. They can see there are normal people behind it. No investors or huge corporate group just two enthusiasts who don’t know what they are dealing with :-)
How did you choose Etapa’s location? How important is the location when you create a place like Etapa?
It’s in the neighbourhood when we live but it’s not the city centre and it’s not a place where many people are passing by. We had to make people come to us. We always measure our success when people come back.
How are you coping with the pandemic? What is your approach to the entire process as Etapa?
It was a hard time. We just opened and they closed us but we tried to think outside the box and launched our e-shop and takeaways. We were selling a lot of our farmer’s ingredients, ceramics, flowers and so on. We managed it. We were able to keep all the stuff. That was our priority.
It is back and we don’t if they close us tomorrow. But we will fight and see what it brings.
As a business partner of the Magic Stamp, how do you think it helped/supported your business?
We were the first one which brought those paperless loyalty cards to Prague. People loved it. It was kind of a game.