Kaja Sööt, long-time shopkeeper at the Metsavenna dairy store in the village of Vastse-Roosa near the Estonian-Latvian border, told ERR show “Vikerhommik” that although the small store does not make a profit, it plays an important role in keeping the village community together.
Sööt has been a shopkeeper for 50 years. She is now retired but still occasionally helps out in the shop. “You have to treat your customers well. In the countryside it’s not easy, young people tend to go to the city. You have to have something to offer to get them to come here,” Sööt said.
Thirty years ago, there was always a long line at the store. “Especially at lunchtime, when the workers came in. We had quite a lot of people back then,” said Sööt, adding that it can be busy now too, especially in the summer. “That’s when the tourists come, thanks to the fact that we have a film location here – the Varga Hill,” she said.
In winter, however, people come to the area thanks to its ski slopes and toboggan runs.
Sööt says the shop also attracts a lot of visitors from far and wide, including Latvians who come to buy cheese. Asked if Latvians don’t know how to make cheese themselves, Sööt said she didn’t think they do.
More read: ERR