This is a story about the day, I started hating Vapiano at the Knez Mihailova Street.

In 2012 the restaurant Russian Tsar (Ruski Car) at the Knez Mihailova Street got closed after 122 years. It got constructed between 1922 and 1926. It wasn’t just a restaurant. It had its own tradition and was the meeting place of famous writers, actors, composers and artists. Regular guests were sitting next to the window, reading the newspaper and drinking domestic coffee for hours.

The same year, another Vapiano was opened in Belgrade. I had a cultural shock, seeing a Vapiano instead of the traditional Ruski Car, which by the way stood under monument protection. Because of that, Vapiano “promised”, it won’t change the interior and keep the tradition of Ruski Car. But there is no trace of the traditional atmosphere. Not even the old furniture got preserved. It got a place for people, who enjoy eating fast pasta. Today the window seats are reserved for people, who will spend more money in the fast food restaurant; not for writers, who will drink only one cup of coffee.