Omas Teekanne

Omas Teekanne - welcoming atmosphere, vintage coffee shop, teabar and a place for variety of creative workshops.

Interview with Sandra Auer

1. Sandra, we are excited that you will share your story with us. Thank you for being part of Brave Folks. Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself? What are you passionate about?

We are Yuno und Sandra and we own the first vintage teabar in Graz, Omas Teekanne, at Nikolaiplatz 1.

Our very own, very big project Omas Teekanne is what we are most passionate about right now. Omas Teekanne is a teabar, a design shop and a place for creative workshops and different events.

We've been working hard to turn our dream into reality and still we are striving to make the place better and better with every passing day. We offer different events, delicious cakes, interesting workshops and an overall positive experience for all of our guests. We want them to leave with a warm feeling – after a big pot of perfectly brewed tea or a workshop where they are presented with the opportunity to learn something new.

2. How did you meet and for how long have you known each other?

We met about two years ago in a community center, here in Graz. After organizing several events and caterings together, we decided to create our own dream place. We wanted to find a location with a welcoming atmosphere, with focus on tea, design and good food – that's what we both are really passionate about. We bake, cook, plan, design, do the bookkeeping and marketing and always strive to make the place more interesting and welcoming. We don't want to rest on what we've achieved so far.

3. Was it always a dream of yours to have your own coffee shop?

It’s been a dream of mine for years but I wouldn't have done it alone. It's always good when you have someone to talk to, to discuss new ideas and to share your experiences with.
Yuno has always been a creative type of person, she loves designing and working with her hands and that’s why there is a joined shop, as well.
And we believe that one wouldn't work without the other. There are already a lot of coffee shops and as an independent designer you can hardly earn enough for a living.

4. How did you come up with the idea to open a creative coffee shop? It definitely has its own spirit.

We want to welcome the creative community and offer as many different workshops as possible. We strongly believe in life-long learning, that's why we are constantly looking for trainers in different DIY-areas. It's such a beautiful thing when you make something with your own hands for yourself or for others. Handmade gifts are the best anyway!

5. Was it difficult to find the right place? Did you have an initial idea what the place should look like or you just knew that it was the right one when you found it?

It was not easy to find the right place, we were looking for about half an year. We wanted a place with a gastro kitchen, a bar, a room for daily use as well as enough space for workshops, events and pop-up markets. When we first stepped into the place it looked totally different. But after walking around for a while we started thinking about how we could change it in order to be the perfect fit for us.

We are now located at the most beautiful square in Graz with a view of the Uhrturm on the Schlossberg! So we're waiting for the summer to come and then we will be able to use our beautiful outdoor area for welcoming our guests.

6. What got you interested in Vintage style? What does it mean to you?

We love the design and lifestyle of the 50s and 60s. Vintage means sustainability and less waste when you reuse things. But it also means going back in time when life was less hectic and stressful than it’s nowadays, when people didn't have smartphones, when there was no Facebook or Instagram and when friends actually talked and listened to each other. Of course, not everything was perfect 50 years ago – it never is – but we believe that taking a break from our hectic lifestyle every now and then helps us concentrate and focus on what’s really important and meaningful in life.

As of the sustainability – for us it was important to reuse, recycle and upcycle as much as possible. At the beginning, it required a lot of work in order to find enough tables, chairs, teapots, teacups, lamps and everything else we needed when we opened the café. In the meanwhile we had some guests who gave us tableware that they didn't need anymore and we got tables and other furniture from friends' great-grandmothers.

7. Sandra, I know you love cooking so all of the clients could always enjoy fresh-made cakes and dishes. How old were you when you showed interest in cooking for the first time and who taught you the art of baking?

I´m a trained cook, I attended a school where I learned all the basics, while I was working in a hotel but at the same time I also learned a lot about bookkeeping and foreign languages. It's always hard to learn new things and to follow instructions and that’s why after finishing school I started experimenting, I tried vegetarian and vegan food and I started loving cooking more and more. I cooked for friends and families, and I realized that I wanted to have my own little place where I could cook for many other people.

I'm interested in cooking itself – the hotter it is in the kitchen and the more pans and pots there are on the stove, the better. But I'm also interested in the effect food has on our bodies. I’ve never jumped on the „superfood“-waggon since the food in Austria is of really high quality and we don't have to import food from far away.

Right now we offer food like soup and main dishes when people order it in advance (like for a group of friends or a celebration), but we have daily fresh and handmade cakes and sandwiches and regular brunches and afternoon tea.

8. Do you have a favorite recipe?

I love fresh vegetables from the farmers' market and I love cooking with them. But I also love making traditional Austrian food like dumplings or Buchteln and I love the smell of freshly-baked bread.

9. What is the most challenging part of running your own café?

We never know what the next day will bring. I’m very organized and I love planning everything in advance but sometimes it's not easy to do so. It's also challenging to remember and keep an eye on everything that’s going on since we do everything by ourselves – Facebook and Instagram Marketing, bookkeeping, etc...

10. You organize different events and there are regularly creative workshops. Can you tell us more about this initiative of yours?

We are most passionate about events like workshops, pop-up markets, brunches, afternoon teas, etc and if we could, we would only do events. We don't want to be a traditional café, we want to be open for as many people as possible and want them to participate, to get to know new people, to have a great time and to learn something new.

11. For many „Omas Teekanne“ is not just a coffee place, but rather a new, delightful experience with its cozy and unique atmosphere. We all could see that you have created this place with so much love and passion. What is the feeling of seeing your dream becoming a reality?

Thank you for the wonderful question.

It's still unbelievable some days. We spend so much time here, it's our second home. We love the quietness in the morning as well as the stressful situations throughout the day. I think we finally realized that we really made our dream come true during our successful first pop-up market two weeks before Christmas. It was 2 days long and those two days were extremely stressful and hectic, but for us, the stress was all positive. We had so many guests, we watched strangers getting to know each other, we talked to so many people, we sold a lot of homemade Glühwein and upcycling tableware. It was one of the best weekends ever.

12. What else would you like to learn or get better at?

We both would like to learn a lot of things, like for me improving my cooking skills or for Yono creating new design products for our shop, trying out lots of different events and pop-up markets or why not even a festival.

13. What do you dream of? What are your plans for the future?

We want to run the café as long as we are happy with it. We won't do it forever, it's a lot of work and we both still have different plans for the future, but right now it is perfect for us and it will be for the next few years, as well.

14. Would you like to give our readers any advice so they could be braver in pursuing their dreams?

We can't say „just do it“. It takes a lot of planning, a lot of talking, a lot of gathering the right information from the right people and many, many sleepless nights. You should really have people who support you and your plans, people you trust and who can tell you if you're heading in the wrong direction.

If you've taken all the pros and cons into consideration, if you've written your 57th list and the pros always win, if you see yourself standing in your own café, shop or whatever you want to do and if you're willing to give it all you have, to work long hours, to sleep less and think more – then do it!

Just like our favorite quote: „If you can't stop thinking about it, don't stop working for it.“