Goska Kidd, who runs the cafe Stenecki in Dundee, has a passion for helping others which she learned from her father, and father-in-law.
Stenecki, formerly Daily Grind, is a colourful cafe on Exchange Street.
You’ll feel right at home the moment you step inside despite the stylish remodelled interior, which comes across as calming rather than imposing.
Goska worked in the police force back in 2012.
She tells me that she was the first Polish police officer in Tayside at that time. Her experience back then proves useful now in the day-to-day running of Stenecki.
“I’m trained a hostage and crisis negotiator,” Goska says.
“So I can read body language and things like that.
“There was someone sitting right there,” she points at a table near us, “and I thought something’s not quite right.
“And you don’t want to overwhelm them. But I gave them a drink on the house.
“I got a massive message from this person about how much that small gesture completely changed their day.
“And I just thought, this is what this place is supposed to be about.
“If you create a space where someone feels welcome, then I feel that maybe, just maybe, someone will come and it will change how they feel.
“Maybe it won’t work, but I prefer to try, or die trying, than not do anything at all.”
The meaning behind Stenecki’s name
Goska also worked with The Daily Grind – which sat in Stenecki’s location – before she took over and rebranded the business.
“When it came to renaming this place, I didn’t want to use my own name,” she tells me.
Instead, ‘Stenecki’ combines the names of her father and father-in-law, both of whom were vital in the community, and meant a great deal to Goska.
“My dad suffered from Parkinson’s, which led to depression. And he took his own life,” says Goska.
“So the money that was left behind, I took it and I held onto it.
“I wanted it to use it on something that would matter to him.”
Her father-in-law, Alexander Kidd (known as Eck Kidd), passed away in February. He also suffered from Parkinson’s Disease.
“It was like déjà vu. It was like it was all happening again.
“He also suffered from depression before he passed away.
“So watching these two men who had massive impacts on our lives go through this was so hard.
“My dad was all about the community. He was a wee fighter.
“He always said that every time something comes to you, you give something back.
“We were brought up that way.
“My father-in-law was so supportive as well.”
Together, Stefan and Eck inspired the name Stenecki, and their influence is clear in the cafe’s supportive, community atmosphere.
What is Stenecki, Dundee, all about?
Goska’s aim is to create a place where young people are supported to learn and grow in their community.
“I’m massive on developing young people,” she says.
“I want to support those who maybe are not taking the usual path to careers, or kids who are disengaging from mainstream education.
“I say, come here, we will teach you what we know, so you have employability skills that can take you places.
“I’m looking build a community, and gain a sense of achievement through watching other people achieve.
“I didn’t want to create something that’s only accessible to young professionals, or only a certain group of people.
“A lot of kids feel destined for failure. I don’t want anyone to feel like that.”
Keeping the prices on the menu affordable at Stenecki, Dundee, is also key for Goska.
“I’m not looking to build an empire for myself,” she says, “our prices are accessible for a reason.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to struggle.
“No matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like, I want people to know that you are welcome.
“I want Stenecki to be a place where a kid could come in and say ‘I don’t have any money, can I get fed?’
“And we’d say ‘no bother’.
“I want my doors to be open to everyone because that’s what my dad would want.”
‘I just want this place to be something that I’m proud of’
“In the police sometimes, I think I felt I had to prove myself,” Goska tells me.
“I was not only foreign, I was also female; I was ambitious; I was always on a mission.
She tells me she had to make a change, because that approach to life “can really deteriorate a person.”
She left the police force, and after trying her hand at property, Goska now runs Stenecki.
Today, she gets her satisfaction out of seeing her customers leave her cafe happy.
“I just want this place to be something that I’m proud of, and pays my bills, that’s it.
“I’m not going to go and open a chain of millions of cafes, that’s not going to happen.
“Because I think by creating something like that, we will lose our personal touch.”
Stenecki serves a range of cuisine, including some Polish items, like pierogi (dumplings), sauerkraut and kielbasa sausage, and they plan to introduce Polish cakes.
By December, Goska hopes for Stenecki’s roastery to be up and running in Dundee, allowing them to serve their own speciality brew.
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