Change of ownership

What will happen to the traditional restaurant after the takeover?

The Promenadenhof will be closed for three years from spring 2025. Until then, it will continue to operate as before.(Bild: Dostal Harald)

Robert Seeber has now found a buyer for his Promenadenhof before the refurbishment from 2025: The DoN Group is taking over the gourmet hangout near the Landestheater. "We are delighted to be able to bring our DNA as hosts to such a renowned traditional business," comments DoN founder and CEO, Josef Donhauser, on the takeover.

The takeover of the Promenadenhof could actually have been completed long ago if owner Robert Seeber had been able to reach an agreement with entrepreneur Philipp Kaufmann at the end of last year, as reported. But nothing came of it because the former broke off negotiations. For Kaufmann, the matter was closed, he said at the time: "I was surprised that I found out about it through the media."

DoN Group takes over the restaurant on 1 May
All that remains now is for the staff of the popular gourmet restaurant at Promenade 39 to hope that they too do not have to wait until the media to find out that they will have a new boss from 1 May. But it had actually been an open secret for weeks that the DoN Group was negotiating with Seeber. And now it has been finalized, as the caterer's Managing Director in Linz, Georg Reichenvater, confirmed when asked by Krone: "Yes, it's true, we will be taking over the Promenadenhof in May." However, there will be no major changes for the time being; the restaurant will continue to operate largely as before until it closes at the beginning of 2025. "There will then be new accents when it reopens in 2027," says Reichenvater.

Fourth hotel in Linz
Josef Donhauser's DoN Group, which has around 1,800 employees in Austria, is no stranger to the international gastronomy and catering scene or to us in Linz. DoN already operates three restaurants in the city center: the Anton in the Musiktheater, the Bruckners in the Brucknerhaus and, not to forget, the popular brew pub Zur Liesl in the Tabakfabrik - and the Promenadenhof will be the fourth in the future. The 40 or so employees there will be offered continued employment in the DoN group during the renovation phase in order to secure the existing jobs.