It’s Never Boring at Garage
An Interview with 9-year-old Entrepreneur Sofia Grigoryan
Editor’s Note: Some kids dream about opening their own business “someday.” Nine-year-old Sofia Grigoryan is already running one. At Garage Tesla — a creative space where children turn ideas into real projects — Sofia and her friends built a café from scratch, learned how to manage money, and discovered what it means to serve real customers. In this interview, Sofia shares how it all began, why Garage feels like home, and what her sweetest dream for the future looks like.
— Sofia, when did you first join Garage?
I joined Garage Tesla two and a half years ago. It was a summer kids’ camp — and it was amazing! That was the first time I ever stayed overnight away from home. I got close to new people, made friends, and had so much fun.
— Tell us about your café project.
About a year ago, my friend Tata told me she had always dreamed of opening her own café. I suggested we do it right here at Garage! I made a sketch on my tablet to imagine what it would look like. Then the three of us — Tata, me, and another girl, Anya — built a cardboard model, cut it out, and assembled it. We called our café My Melody, after the Hello Kitty character.
Our parents gave us money to buy the first products, and then we started earning about 4–5,000 drams a day. We used the profit to buy more supplies. Tata is a pro — she can make lattes, espressos, cappuccinos, mojitos, and all kinds of teas. I think she learned from her parents. At first, she was the owner and manager of the café, but now she has passed those responsibilities to me.
Every day, I record our expenses and income, check if we’re in profit or loss. Business is going well — we have regular customers, new ones are showing up, and we even have an idea to rebuild the café from plywood. I think now is the perfect time since Garage just moved to a new space.
— What do you like most about Garage?
The atmosphere! After school, being at home can be boring, but here I can talk, have fun, and spend my energy. There aren’t too many strict rules — at Garage, you can do what you really want. Teachers always ask if you’d like to join an activity, and if you say “no,” they never force you.
— What are your favorite activities here?
I love art and acting. Recently, with our teacher Pavel, we came up with different scenes based on Alice in Wonderland and performed them. I played a monkey, a pigeon, a human, and a giraffe — all at once! It was so much fun.
— And what about your dreams for the future?
I think it’s great when a child can make their own choices and move forward in that direction. My dream is to create a chain of pastry shops. My favorite cake is a sponge cake with cream cheese frosting — and I can bake it myself!
I joined Garage Tesla two and a half years ago. It was a summer kids’ camp — and it was amazing! That was the first time I ever stayed overnight away from home. I got close to new people, made friends, and had so much fun.
— Tell us about your café project.
About a year ago, my friend Tata told me she had always dreamed of opening her own café. I suggested we do it right here at Garage! I made a sketch on my tablet to imagine what it would look like. Then the three of us — Tata, me, and another girl, Anya — built a cardboard model, cut it out, and assembled it. We called our café My Melody, after the Hello Kitty character.
Our parents gave us money to buy the first products, and then we started earning about 4–5,000 drams a day. We used the profit to buy more supplies. Tata is a pro — she can make lattes, espressos, cappuccinos, mojitos, and all kinds of teas. I think she learned from her parents. At first, she was the owner and manager of the café, but now she has passed those responsibilities to me.
Every day, I record our expenses and income, check if we’re in profit or loss. Business is going well — we have regular customers, new ones are showing up, and we even have an idea to rebuild the café from plywood. I think now is the perfect time since Garage just moved to a new space.
— What do you like most about Garage?
The atmosphere! After school, being at home can be boring, but here I can talk, have fun, and spend my energy. There aren’t too many strict rules — at Garage, you can do what you really want. Teachers always ask if you’d like to join an activity, and if you say “no,” they never force you.
— What are your favorite activities here?
I love art and acting. Recently, with our teacher Pavel, we came up with different scenes based on Alice in Wonderland and performed them. I played a monkey, a pigeon, a human, and a giraffe — all at once! It was so much fun.
— And what about your dreams for the future?
I think it’s great when a child can make their own choices and move forward in that direction. My dream is to create a chain of pastry shops. My favorite cake is a sponge cake with cream cheese frosting — and I can bake it myself!