PRAGUE.
Martin Rucinsky sits at his desk and greets cheerfully.
– Welcome!
One of the restaurant’s owners is understandably not there. He is busy with the Czech national team.
It’s a sunny, grindingly hot day. The terrace of the place is full of people. The restaurant is just a stone’s throw away from the main square of Prague’s Old Town.
First of all, it is interesting to know how the Olympic champion, three-time world champion and hockey player who had a breathtakingly long career in the NHL ended up as the owner of the restaurant. Rucinsky hung up his skates on a nail in the spring of 2015.
– When I had finished my career, I didn’t really know what I would do. At first I didn’t really want to do anything because I had such a long career behind me, Rucinsky says.
His professional career started in the Czechoslovak premier league already in the 1988-89 season. Rucinsky moved to the NHL for the 1991-92 season and played there for no less than sixteen years. Career ended in Litvinov, in the same club as it had started.
Five years ago, Rucinsky started dreaming of his own restaurant with his good friend.
– Petr and I planned this for a long time. We wanted to start our own place, but we couldn’t seem to find a suitable space.
Petr is another local NHL legend, Petr Nedved. Rucinsky says that for a long time both of them had been united not only by their love for hockey but also for good food and drink.
Finally, a suitable place was found.
– There used to be a pizzeria here. However, the Corona era brought it down, so we got access to this place. Then things started rolling. And here we are now.
The guys knew right away what kind of place they wanted. The concept was quite simple.
– We wanted a restaurant that serves good food and good Czech beer. We also had a vision of what the place should look like. The interior designer fulfilled our wishes and we also found a great chef who immediately understood our ideas for the menu, he explains.
The restaurant has now been open for two years. At least during the World Cup, the place is always full of customers. According to Rucinsky, there are also enough people outside the games.
The offer is exactly what the owner duo wants. The menu is, in the Czech way, quite rich in meat. Steaks, tartar, ribs… made in fine dining style, but not priced. We’ll come back to the prices later.
The location is so central that tourists flow past all the time. The customer base still also consists of people other than tourists.
– Ice hockey players, past and present, visit here a lot. Soccer players and tennis players also often visit. They come to greet us and like the friendly atmosphere of the place and the food. And of course about beer, Rucinsky says with a smile.
Pool players come to pool players. The entire Czech national team has visited here a few times.
And a couple of days ago, Rucinsky was sitting at his own desk Saku Koivun with.
– Yes, it was great to see him after a long time. I hadn’t seen him in about eight years. Saku sent me a message and asked if I was there.
Of course Rucinsky was there. He’s almost always here.
– Sometimes I do some work and help the employees, but mostly I want to come here and enjoy myself. I meet my friends and all the people who come here.
The name of the place is Stridacka. It means bench. Neither of the former NHL stars came up with the name. It was invented by Nedved’s wife.
– We thought about the name first and we had a few good options, but then his wife suggested this and we got excited about the name right away.
It seems to be the most comfortable changing bench in Prague or the whole Czech Republic?
– Possibly!
Rucinsky is always the center of attention in his restaurant. It doesn’t seem to bother the hockey legend.
– I enjoy it. It’s great when people curiously come here and take pictures of the restaurant and me. And they like our food, he says with satisfaction.
Nedved is rarely seen in the restaurant during the World Cup tournament.
– Petr is busy when he is the general manager of the national team. My job is to take care of the place.
The World Cup always has its own atmosphere. Rucinsky has sensed that.
– There is a very special atmosphere here. The people are all friendly, the weather is fantastic, it’s an incredibly great time! At least that’s how I feel. What about you?
Yes, there seems to be a really good spirit here and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.
– If the games were in Helsinki, surely they would be even more special for you?
Well, I don’t know, Prague seems like the perfect place to organize these.
– For us, Prague is a special place because hockey is so hugely popular here. We are a hockey nation. Otherwise, we will probably break the World Cup audience record, which I understand is still in our name. The 2015 games were a great success here, he says proudly.
One thing still needs to be resolved with Rucinsky. We sit right in the heart of Prague, where restaurant prices are clearly higher than outside the center.
But the prices of the “exchange seat” are something else entirely. The food is at least a good third cheaper than almost all other places in this area.
And the price of a pint of beer almost doubles when you walk a hundred meters from here in the direction of the main square. In Stridacka, you can get a pint of the locals’ favorite drink for about two and a half euros. Why is Rucinsky and Nedved’s place so much cheaper?
– We want to offer people good food and drink at a reasonable price. We don’t want to be greedy. What is important to us is that people have a good time and leave here satisfied.
After the interview, Rucinsky poses cheerfully for the photographer and then sits down in his familiar place.
– This is my table, which my friends and many others come to every day.