Talk to Grandma About Life: An Unusual Service in New York Allows You to Get Advice from Old Ladies Around the World

A mobile stand allows New Yorkers to talk about life with grandmothers around the world. Time-out tells how some older and wiser people give good advice to New Yorkers right in the middle of the street.

In 2012, Mike Matthews decided to connect his 95-year-old grandmother, Eileen, with other New Yorkers. He bought an 36-pound lemonade stand on Etsy. He would drive it around town, set up his laptop and chair next to it, and then video chat with his Seattle grandmother.

“It was hard for her to travel, but she wanted to come to New York. So I thought, this is a way for my grandmother to meet New Yorkers virtually,” Matthews recalls. “Every week, people would sit on a chair and have a conversation with my grandmother. The conversations ranged from deep, emotional to more casual.”

Eileen passed away At the age of 102 in 2018, Matthews decided to close his kiosk with grandmother.

Helping Grandma Turned into a Big Project

A lot has happened since then. A global pandemic that has upended the way we live and interact with each other, inflation concerns, political upheaval, and a general sense of anxiety permeating aspects of daily life across the country.

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“About six months ago, I had this overwhelming feeling that everyone was on edge, stressed, and alone. We needed something good,” Matthews says. “So I thought, why not bring the kiosk back?”

Mike lives on the Upper West Side with his family. He works in marketing and social media. Matthews decided to give his project a little makeover by buying a lighter, collapsible lemonade stand painted purple (Eileen’s favorite color). He could carry it on his electric scooter and set it up almost anywhere in the city.

With Eileen gone, Matthews has expanded his roster of wise grandmothers willing to dispense advice and wisdom to New Yorkers.

“It all started with grandmothers from family and friends,” Matthews explains. “Now I get emails from different grandmothers all over the country. Some of them show up at the counter virtually, and some of them show up in person.”

Over the past few months, the instantly recognizable Grandma Stand has held 90-minute sessions in Central Park, Tribeca, the Upper West Side, and SoHo, among other locations. Each day, Grandma can chat with 10 to 12 different people who pass by.

“There’s no need to be tied to a location anymore,” Matthews explains. “Now that the stand is portable, I can go anywhere.”

How to communicate with grandmothers

Matthews typically posts a prompt (topic) for the session to discuss and a general location on the account @grandmastand on Instagram about a day before the event. Those wishing to interact with the chosen grandmother can schedule their schedule accordingly.
The scale of the project and its reliance on direct interactions between local residents undoubtedly shaped Matthews's view of urban life.

“The longer you live in New York, the less you look people in the eye,” he says. “You just shut the city out, and it slowly becomes disconnected from you. It becomes one big cluster of people. Suddenly you put this unique thing — a stand on a street corner — and the person who wouldn’t even look at you sits down and shares heartfelt stories. So every time I ride my scooter, my love for the city doubles. I feel connected to it.”

Matthews acknowledges that simply interacting with people who have spent more time on earth than the average New Yorker helped many participants see things from a different perspective.

"When an older person with experience says, 'Hey, we've been around a long time, we've been through this. It's going to be OK,' that's comforting," he says. "You're going to be OK."