Britt Kamper is a successful entrepreneur, she opened a bistro with her partner Manuel in November 2024, which has been in the press ever since and is now a very popular place in the 3rd district.
But we don't want to talk to her about her restaurant ‘Alice’, but about the roles she plays and the challenges it brings with it.
1. Britt, you're a successful entrepreneur and people are running over your restaurant. Can you enjoy your success or are you currently still too stressed out from your start-up year?
At the moment I'm just trying my best to enjoy, appreciate and cherish everything we've accomplished whilst also being very stressed out. Both me and my partner are humbled by the reception we've gotten. We never dared imagining that it could be going so well, so early on in the process and we are so grateful for all the wonderful guests who walk through our doors every single day.
2. We want to talk to you about layers - you're not just an entrepreneur, you also have two small children. How does that work out for you? what are your biggest areas of tension and does your partner have them too? Or are there differences from your point of view?
Honestly, I have moments where I think it was completely nuts to open up a place whilst having two small children. We had been looking for a place to open for almost two years and I always knew that we would find something at the worst possible timing. And sure enough, when Freja, our youngest, was 10 days old we came across the location at Krieglergasse 8 and it was just too unique of a place to turn down. So we went for it, knowing that it would be difficult to juggle life with a toddler and a newborn, with being entrepreneurs. Luckily we have an amazing network here in Vienna who has helped us out. Both with emergency babysitting, but also with practical work and creative inputs. I'm Danish and my partner is Italian, so we have no immediate family around for when shit hits the fan, but we've been lucky enough to create our own little village who has helped us out a lot. That said, it's still far from easy and I think the biggest issue for the both of us is time. There's never enough time. Not enough time with the kids, not enough time for the business, not enough time to yourself. This feeling of constantly being behind has been a huge stress factor that we are still trying to figure out.
3. You always come across as very light-footed and cheerful, you are always very affectionate with your family and at the same time you run your own bistro. That's admirable. How did you manage that? Everything seems to be in balance.
The key word here is "seems". Like any other parent trying to juggle a million things at once, I/we have also had to recalibrate expectations with reality. This means that balance comes and goes and there are definitely moments of complete chaos (you should see the state of our apartment as I write down these words). But what I've practised since becoming a mom four years ago, is to treat myself with compassion. Even when I fail, even when I snap at my kids or my partner, when I completely mess up, I try to focus on compassion and empathy. Two values I'm doing my best to teach my kids as well, both towards themselves but also towards their surroundings.
4. Realising a dream always takes a lot of courage. How do you deal with doubt? And what gives you courage?
In the process of opening up our business, we had moments of extreme doubt, the biggest one of course being, what if we fail? We had a lot of confidence in our skills, visions and ideas, but sometimes that's just not enough. We've both been in the business long enough to see several wonderful places which had to close down. Somewhere along the line though, we figured it would be stupid not to have doubts. We were investing everything in this project, it would be naive not to question it and ourselves. The courage to keep going and to keep getting better comes from multiple sources. My partner gives me courage. Every day. His determination, his creativity, his ambition inspires me. My children give me courage. Their happiness gives me courage to keep doing what makes me happy. And as cliche as it might sound, our guests give me courage. Their kind words, the small but significant conversations we exchange, their smile as they enjoy their time at our place, it makes all the hard work worthwhile.
5. What is your vision? Or - where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I don't do well with visions. Thinking too much ahead very quickly overwhelms me and I try to focus only on the immediate future. This is very much a privilege I get to have, because Manuel is constantly thinking about the future and where we can take our business. But five years from now? I hope to still have a happy and healthy family and hopefully a bit more time to spend by the seaside in either Denmark or Italy. I miss the sea on the daily basis and if you had asked me where I see myself in 50 years instead of 5, my answer would be retired in Italy by the Adriatic coast, sipping cold pinot grigio while Manu prepares pasta puttanesca ♥️