The Buns&Bottles bar has opened in Warsaw - the new face of the legendary Minsk project "Buns-Bottles ". The owners, a married couple from Belarus - Andrei and Maria Zhuki - took him with them into forced emigration.
The popular bar "Buns-Bottles" was located in the very center of Minsk, on the "party" street Zybitskaya. On August 3, 2022, the singer Meryem Gerasimenka performed the song "Hugs" by the Ukrainian band "Okiyan Elsa" in an open-air bar. After the attacks of propagandists, she was detained and twice sentenced to 15 days, and later to three years of "home chemistry". Bar owners Andrei and Maria Zhukivy were also detained. They were sentenced to two and a half years of "chemistry".
Later, all three managed to leave the country and move to Poland - here Zhuki and Gerasimenka, who became a co-founder, gave the project a second life.
Now the Buns&Bottles Warsaw bar has two floors. The format became closer to the European visitor, but the atmosphere remained. The cocktail menu has preserved the traditions of the Minsk institution, but new cocktails and shots have appeared. In the evenings, Buns&Bottles will play live music, just like in Minsk. Meriem Gerasimenka performed at the opening of the institution and plans to regularly sing at the bar. Cooperation with Belarusian and Polish performers is also planned.
Andrey and Maria managed to find investors who allocated funds for opening a bar. The team also moved from Belarus - the same people with whom Andrey and Mariya opened Buns-Bottles eight years ago. The husband and wife emphasize that the fact that there are many Belarusian and Ukrainian institutions in Warsaw gave them confidence.
- In recent years, Belarusians and Ukrainians have discovered a lot of new things in the Polish capital. We called and met with some founders of institutions. They advised us, shared their experience. Therefore, it was easier for us, because we knew many mistakes of our colleagues. There are also many Belarusian contractors in Warsaw: tilers, plumbers, electricians. Therefore, the language barrier did not become an obstacle. The Poles only poured the screed and installed the mirrors, the rest was done by the Belarusians, - says Andrei.
The husband and wife note that they also liked the Polish laws. Bureaucratic procedures turned out to be many times less, and control by the state in Poland is not as strict as at home.
- There is no police, no firefighters, no administration, and there is also the story of the cameras. The fact is that Minsk has a special video surveillance algorithm: you need to have a hard drive on which all recordings are stored for 30 days. And here we were just happy with the Polish law! Everything is as simple as possible: sanstation, license, SKPO — and to work!
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