Inna Kochetova, her husband Oleksii Kochetov and mother-in-law Olena, are Ukraine refugees with vibrant lives in SoCal.
On the first floor of a residential building in Playa Vista a small restaurant has opened its doors, just across the street from a pocket park with a fountain. About a dozen dishes on its menu are vareniki, or dumplings, filled with potatoes, sweet cheese and turkey. A bouquet of blue and yellow roses drawn on the wall resembles the map of Ukraine. A sign next to it reads, “Mom, please,” the cafe’s name, a reminder of the peaceful life its owners had back home.
Inna Kochetkova and her husband Oleksii Kochetkov, refugees from Mariupol in Ukraine, work in their new restaurant “Mom, please” in Playa Vista on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Oleksii Kochetkov and his mother Olena, refugees from Mariupol in Ukraine, work in their new restaurant “Mom, please” in Playa Vista on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
“While I’m busy here, I feel fine,” Elena said with tears in her eyes. “As soon as I stop working, I start thinking about what we’ve been through.” Olena Kochetkova, a refugee with her family from Mariupol in Ukraine, makes vareniki dumplings at her restaurant “Mom, please” in Playa Vista on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
Crepes with chicken and mushrooms are served at the Ukrainian restaurant “Mom, please” in Playa Vista on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Inna Kochetkova, reaches into her walk-in freezer at her new restaurant “Mom, please” in Playa Vista on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
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