Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
“Are you hungry but have no money? Here you can eat and pay later. Or God will pay us back. No one should have to go hungry.” The last sentence on the sign is printed in bold and underlined and demonstrates exactly why the Kosan bakery on Karl Marx Allee has been making a name for itself as one of the most generous businesses in Berlin.
The cafe and bakery, run by a Turkish family for the last eight years, is located close to Weberwiese U-Bahn station. Since its opening, the cafe has become a popular port of call for the area’s diverse population. The sign has been on display since the beginning.
The Kosans diligently look after all of their customers, whether or not they have enough money for their food. They say around four to five people per week take up the offer to eat for free. No-one has ever taken advantage of it, who wasn’t really in need. In fact, the Kosans say that most of the people in need do not dare ask for food. Only when the queue in front of the counter has disappeared, do some people start to inquire about the offer.
“We are Muslims,” says Ugur Kosan, as if that explains everything. His older brother Oguzhan elaborates: “It is a duty in our religion to give something to those who are hungry. You cannot be full and do nothing when your neighbour goes hungry.”
The generosity of the Kosan brothers seems to have a lot to do with their father Ahmet Kosan, who came to Berlin from Turkey aged just nine. Ahmet’s father worked as a labourer, and Ahmet himself worked shifts at Ford for 28 years. It was he and his wife Sabahat who showed their children that giving is far better than taking.
Now retired, he is often to be found in the small park behind the cafe, handing out packages of sandwiches and cups of warm tea. “That doesn’t hurt us,” he says. “On the contrary, it does us good.”