Uproar over contract

Gastro summer fairytale with possible court case

The bar has already closed again and a new location is now being sought.

(Bild: Christoph Miehl)

The big dream of owning a restaurant was shattered after just a few weeks. Instead, a lot of trouble is now looming. The lease for the building in Eisenstadt is to blame. 

It sounded a bit like a fairy tale when it was announced at the beginning of the summer that the Bienenkorb restaurant in Eisenstadt, which had been empty for years, was to be revived. The plan was to breathe life back into the well-known restaurant for at least four months. Josef "Josko" Linzer opened an "eco-social wine bar" in June, which was supposed to invite guests to stop by and linger until October 20.

No guests there
He had leased the bar from "Hoch3Wohnen Colmarplatz GmbH", which had bought the Bundesländerhof complex four years ago. He wanted to do something good for Eisenstadt, says the man from Großwarasdorf today. But there was to be no happy ending to the summer fairytale. The guests stayed away, and Linzer was soon at loggerheads with the city and the landlord.

Fuss about the inner courtyard
Now, after around one and a half months, the gastronomic dream is over again. The bar is closed, says Linzer. Not only because of the lack of guests, but also because there are differences of opinion between him and the landlord as to whether the inner courtyard is part of the lease. Linzer sees it as included and has always behaved in this way. The landlord is of a different opinion. Only the small wooden terrace in front of the restaurant was included in the contract, explains Andreas Agh from Hoch3Wohnen. In general, Linzer was very accommodating, even when it came to an open-air concert.

Nevertheless, Linzer has now unilaterally terminated the contract. From Agh's point of view, however, the contract is still in force and therefore the rent still has to be paid - a few thousand euros per month. Linzer did not originally intend to do this. If necessary, he would take the matter to court, he said. Agh had also already called in his lawyer. However, the two parties have since reached an amicable agreement.

Josko Linzer is now looking for a new location for his wine bar.

(Bild: Christoph Miehl)

Search for a new restaurant
Linzer now wants to find another restaurant where he can run his eco-social wine bar. This is not the first time that he has been looking for a new home for his concept. He has no regrets about the Bienenkorb. According to Linzer, the location wasn't good anyway.