Marcin Wróblewski (Wróbel as he is known to his friends) is no ordinary restauranteur. He may have gotten older but his colorful history I’m sure plays a big part in where he is today. A Polish BMX champion, a songwriter, an explorer, a family man, and now a restauranteur. 109 Za Rogiem located in his family home basement is all of his experiences pulled together to make a really cool, welcoming place to come and eat and chill out.
With live music events, 109 Za Rogiem really is a hidden jewel and if you’re in Grunwald anytime soon we recommend you pay them a visit. If you’re lucky you will bump into Marcin who is always up for a chat. We met up with him and asked him how his life journey brought him to open 109 Za Rogiem.
It’s cool we could meet up today, 109 Za Rogiem. When did you open it?
I’m happy to have you here! We opened in January 2016.
It’s difficult to find you. I mean, if you don’t come straight to this address, it’s easy to pass you by. I suppose most of your clients live nearby?
Yes, most of our clients are from Grunwald but not only, people from different parts of Poznań come to try our steaks. We want to be there for the local community above all but we’re open to the world!
It’s a great place. You could say – a hidden gem. Tell me, what is 109 Za Rogiem all about? I heard you have live music.
Yes, we try to have a music event regularly. My dad is a bluesman, he has great friends so it’s easier to organize such an event. We want to create a place where we would go to and relax, a place that doesn’t limit you in any way but pampers you instead, a place where you can eat healthy to the full and have a nice time. And, interior design is my mom’s hobby so she can express herself through this place too. It’s an extension of our passions. I hope that our guests can feel it too.
In general, restaurant owners love their places (most of them, at least). But you are connected to this place in a special way. What is that?
Above all, it’s a place where I was born. This is my family house, I know it inside out as well as the neighborhood. I love it and I feel free inside this house. And my biking friends who were coming here often kept saying that it’s a place where time stops. You can breathe deeply and relax in it.
Why did you open a restaurant? Has it always been something you find interesting?
I’ve always liked to cook and eat well. I think it’s great to run a place where you can get all your senses to work. But this was in the range of my interests alongside many other things. This place was created quite accidentally, to be honest, in the beginning, I was rather thinking about a more casual Mexican food truck. A twist of events brought us to the opening of 109 Za Rogiem.
Are you running the place on your own or do your family members help you?
I wouldn’t do it all alone. My parents have created this place and I run it along with my girlfriend Martyna. We are all the “board of directors” as I like to call it and we make the majority of decisions together. My parents’ input is huge, they also know a lot and have some experience in gastronomy (my dad used to run Meridian restaurant in Sołacz and Gospoda Młyńskie Koło). I’m learning everything.
I heard that you used to do some sport and you were quite successful but you had to give it up because of an injury. Is that true?
Yes, I was a BMX rider. I have won Polish championships a few times, I had cool sponsors. When I finished my studies, I wanted to spend at least 2-3 years in the USA or Australia. Before that, I traveled a lot, I saw almost the whole of Europe, and I met a lot of people, and that all allowed me to travel around the world with my bike. Even if it didn’t work out, I’d have my dream holidays. Unfortunately, in the moment of truth, I tore the cruciate ligament in my knee, twice in two years.
Perhaps everybody dreams of something like a trip around Europe… Can you tell us more about it?
I was using basically every occasion to travel. I was leaving for 2-3 weeks, coming back to do my laundry and 2 days later I was out again. If I wanted to develop, I’d have to travel because the conditions for my development in Poland weren’t impressive. And I really wanted to develop so I had to travel around a lot. There were many excuses to do so, I was leaving for competitions, film shooting, photo shoots for my sponsors, organized trips, or just (or maybe above all) to bike around with new people in a new place. This last thing I liked the most. And money had nothing to do with that all, if need be, I was hitchhiking, I was sleeping in skateparks in return for some minor help. I experienced a lot of good from other people, I opened up to the world. This way I saw almost the whole of Europe, I was in Argentina and the USA but I have been there for a shorter period of time than I planned earlier. What was the most beautiful in this all was the fact that I had a goal in everything I did. Every journey was giving me something positive, some new experience. It was a well-seasoned life.
If you had to choose your favorite dish from your own menu, what would it be?
It’s difficult to say, you can always eat too much of something. But I love the way we cook Brussels sprouts. We add it to steaks or salmon on beet puree. Thanks to this addition, both dishes taste like heaven. And the beef empanadas… But you wanted me to choose only one, right? I told you, it’s difficult.
We wish you all the best with 109 Za Rogiem. Can’t wait to visit you again! One more question – how would you describe 109 Za Rogiem in one sentence?
An absolutely unique restaurant.
