Ukrainians get creative to keep businesses alive amid winter blackouts

Large businesses have tackled the problem by investing heavily in generators and alternative energy sources, but for Ukraine’s small businesses, the price tag is often too steep.

“We wanted to buy a large generator, but they have now doubled or tripled in price,” said Iryna Golotina, co-owner of Under Wonder restaurant in Kyiv.

In a phone call with NBC News, Golotina, 46, said she, like many other small businesses, had been forced to get creative to keep the doors open and customers happy.

The restaurant created special “Black Menus,” featuring only dishes that can be prepared without electricity.

At first, they used candles for backup lighting, “then we made lanterns from string lights and placed them in large vases, creating glowing decorative pieces that our guests loved,” she said.

Golotina said on one night when the power suddenly came back on, diners immediately asked the staff to switch off the lights again because the lanterns made the atmosphere more “magical.”

Some customers told her it reminded them of a dining hall from “Harry Potter,” she said.