The Hospitable Restaurateur

About Moyshe Fleysh, whom everyone called Maushuk

After Sunday mass, hungry and sometimes cold residents of Šeduva would gather at a restaurant that once stood on this corner. Moyshe Fleysh, the elderly owner whom locals called Maushuk, was always waiting for them.

Maushuk was a good talker and a gallant waiter. He would begin sharing cookies and buns with customers the minute they walked in. He didn't forget to pass out candy to his younger guests, either. But after the long work week, some Šeduvians were most attracted to the bottles on the table, marked with a label with two goats on either side of a barrel. Hmm… Gubernia beer, a brand that exists even now. How can you do without it? The advertising for this beer displayed on the outer doors was visible from afar, from both sides of the street.

The restaurant wasn't luxurious. On the contrary, the wooden building looked rather shabby. We can guess it was the owner's hospitality and generosity that kept the customers coming. Maushuk served his clients until 1927, when he succumbed to a lung infection. His son took over the business.

The Fleysh family legacy lives on to this day. In 1986, a copy of the building was constructed and moved to the Lithuanian Folk Life Museum in Rumšiškės.