Over decades of existence, Hani i 2 Robertëve found itself in various locations in Prishtina, mainly in basements, near tunnels and hidden places, says owner Fadil Dragaj, who together with his wife, Merita, built one of the cafes that has found a permanent spot in the collective memory of many generations of Prishtina residents.

But, the story of Hani të 2 Robertëve begins later, when Dragaj changed locations from Kurrizi to Santeja, both in the Dardania neighborhood, which had become a center of Albanian social life. There, they participated in concerts, parties and cultivated a cultural scene.

At that time, Hani became the center of the capital’s cultural activities. It was trying to replace institutions that were forbidden to Albanians. In terms of the character of the bar space over time, Hani was a cultural and political space. It was the main center for international journalists before and during the war. Then, a diplomatic center for international politicians who wanted to get to know underground Prishtina and continued to hold meetings there after the end of war.

But today, Hani is just one of the many bars that occupy the streets of Prishtina. Mainly frequented by loyal customers, Hani remains to this day in a bar near the cafes in Santeja.

And over the last two decades, the relationship between cafes and politics has changed shape. This was evident during the 2021 local elections, where in the list of candidates for each major party, there was at least one cafe owner. Beyond the voter lists, there is an unwritten identification of cafes with different parties, either because of clientele or ownership.

“Dit ‘e Nat’,” located in an alley near the main government building in the center of Prishtina, for many years has been an important space for discussions and youth culture.

The opening of Dit’ e Nat’ in 2009 coincided with when VV was increasing its political activity. The co-owner, Genc Salihu, a prominent urban artist from Prishtina, remembers that in the first four or five years of its life, Dit’ e Nat’ had become a nest for VV activists, who held discussions on political philosophy there and screened films. Salihu and Kaltrina Krasniqi, his partner with whom he manages the bar, later decided to stop showing films so as to avoid political affiliation and, as Salihu said, “to diversify [the bar] ideologically.”

Years later, in 2010, Fryma e Re (FER) emerged on the political scene, another small party that introduced names that would later become important in Kosovar politics, including Shpend Ahmeti, the former mayor of Prishtina for two terms and a high profile member of VV for several years. Salihu says that FER also took its first steps in Dit’ e Nat’.

Meanwhile, with the advent of widely available technology and social networking, he thinks cafes have begun to lose their ability to gather people and facilitate discussions, indicating an end to the era when political alternatives were formed in cafes.

“Social networks have taken away only a few elements from cafes, but they have taken away the key elements, such as the element of mobilization, you have it completely on social media, it is much more efficient there,” he said.

In this context, Salihu thinks that the character of the cafes of the 1990s had similarities to the post-war years until the rapid development of the internet, which, according to him, has brought about changes and now cafes are used more as a daily ritual.

“In the 1990s, the only thing we owned were the bars and cafes, we had nothing else,” said Salihu. “Still, even after the war, there were cafes where the most progressive developments took place —  little had changed in this respect. Now the situation has changed entirely.”

Although cafes are remembered as places where progress has taken place, in some respects they are still tied up in tradition.

Still a man’s world

Fehmi Agani Street, known as “Kafet e vogla,” today is full of cafes and restaurants on both sides. Was named after the first cafe that was located there, “Kafja e vogël,” which attracted more and more cafes to be built. Immediately behind Kafet e vogla, is Tartine Deli, a cafe that brought innovation to Kosovar cuisine and consistently employed only women, opened seven years ago. 

When Adelina Sokoli and Gresa Bakalli opened Tartine, one of their aims was to break down barriers for women in the industry. As with all other fields, the bar and restaurant sector in Kosovo is dominated by men. Women’s access to employment in the sector as well as to business ownership continues to be negligible.

Prejudices about women running businesses, said Sokoli and Bakalli, have been a consistent challenge.

“In the beginning we were told that men must be behind us, and the tradesmen that we called, never came on time or they tried to scam us, or they asked us ‘where are your men?'” said Sokoli.

According to Linda Gusia, professor of sociology at the University of Prishtina, there is a patriarchal division with regards to cooking and serving food in different spaces. Food at home –– in private spaces –– is always cooked by women, while in restaurants and spaces outside the house –– public spaces –– it is prepared mainly by men. Women are supposed to stay within the walls of the house while the public sphere is still dominated by men.

The unequal division of public space between the genders, as Gusia describes it, is also reflected in the ownership of businesses in the bar and restaurant sector, where the vast majority of owners are men. A limited increase in the number of women who own such businesses has only taken place recently. The latest data from KAS show that out of about 3,000 businesses opened during the first three months of 2022, only 22% are owned by women. Meanwhile, 2019 data showed that women owned only 11% of all active businesses at the time.

This situation prevails in Prishtina, where the majority of waiters continue to be men, while women are less often employed by or owners of such businesses — symptomatic of the gendered realities of economic power and authority in society.

“Until a few years ago, it was almost inconceivable for women to serve in restaurants. Women serve at home, all day, but in the restaurant it was considered an indecent profession. Whoever controls the public in general, also controls the restaurant sector,” said Gusia.

Traditionally, Gusia says, women in Kosovo have been within the walls that have defined their private sphere of action. With large traditional families where “the hearth has been the home,” the idea of cooking is seen as centered around home and family.

“Cooking has historically been important in terms of humanity and the development of human societies, and women have been the ones who have cooked and engaged in cooking and preparation, who have gathered and cultivated in the gardens,” said Gusia. “Cooking is taken for granted, It is invisible, unpaid and unknown.”

In a well-known alley in Prishtina’s center, the bar “Te Martini” stands proudly. Since before the war, mainly men have gathered here. But in the last decade especially, new bars began to open on this street and it became known as “Kafet e Rakisë.” The opening of these bars has changed its demographics, both in terms of customers and owners. Today, this street is one of the few places where you can find old and young in one place.