Restaurants in crisis?

Viennese restaurateurs talk about recipes for success

The old innkeeper Rosa Stippert with her son Rudi and granddaughter Kathi.

(Bild: Zwefo)

These are difficult times for the restaurant industry. Many people are foregoing a visit to the pub. We spoke to two restaurateurs who can rely on their clientele, but it takes commitment. 

The Stippert wine tavern in Ottakring is a family business in the truest sense of the word. The 85-year-old landlady works in the kitchen with her 28-year-old granddaughter. "My grandma is in the kitchen every day at 6 a.m. preparing the potato salad," says Kathi, who is due to take over the Heuriger in a few years' time. But she wants to bring a breath of fresh air into the business by then at the latest. Thanks to loyal regulars, business is going well, but the Heuriger has strong competition from the well-known 10er Marie across the street. What's more, the guests are no longer the youngest and no young people are coming in.

Waiter Michi is a great asset to the business. He knows what the regulars want.

(Bild: Zwefo)

"The young have to win"
"Heurige aren't just for old people, pubs like the Fuhrgassl-Huber are full of young people," says Kathi in the "Krone" interview. The low prices are a clear advantage: You can get a spritzer at Stippert for 2.90 euros, no comparison to the prices in city pubs. However, special incentives are needed for young people. "They can come to us for a pre-glow, after all we are right next to the U3 and therefore well connected," says the hospitality college graduate. Vegan dishes are also increasingly in demand.

There are 2058 restaurants

in Vienna, plus 744 coffee houses, 625 bars and nightclubs, 374 inns and 628 snack bars.

Working hours not very family-friendly
From May to September, the young restaurateur works at Heuberg, where she runs a Buschenschank. This also attracts a younger clientele and is particularly suitable for weddings with a fantastic view. The working hours are a particular burden for the 28-year-old, who is in the kitchen until late in the evening instead of going out with her friends. And it's not easy to find staff to relieve her. "Most of them only come to clock in or have the wrong idea of what working in a restaurant is like," says the Viennese. When Grandma retires, it becomes even more difficult.
Her long-time employee and friend Michi is a great asset. "He's the kind of waiter you imagine," Kathi enthuses. A stroke of luck that is very rare these days...

Everything runs smoothly in this pub
Lack of staff, too few guests, hardly any turnover - more and more restaurateurs are struggling with these problems. Not least the pandemic has really shaken up this once strong industry.

Walter Reuter (left) with part of his motivated team. Gasthaus Koci opened in 2016 and some employees have been with the company from the very beginning.

(Bild: Viktoria Graf)

Great working hours for the employees
So it's all the more pleasing that things aren't perfect at Walter Reuter's Gasthaus Koci at Draschestraße 81 in Liesing, but they are pretty good. Instead of too few employees, he has three more than originally planned. "But I need them now because I've introduced different working hours to keep my staff," explains Reuter. And for many in the industry, these are almost too good to be true: Two days of work are followed by two days off for the service staff. And all 27 employees have 26 weekends off a year, even though the business is open Monday to Sunday from ten to 11 pm.

Unfortunately, I can't give my staff money, so I have to offer other benefits, such as weekends off.

Wirt Walter Reuter

"Unfortunately, I can't give my staff money, so I have to offer other benefits," says the Viennese. Restaurant specialist Janine has been working here for more than six years and, in addition to the family atmosphere, she particularly appreciates the working hours.

"You simply have to have a broad base"
Reuter can't complain about too few guests either. The lunch menu for 9.20 euros with soup and main course attracts many. "I only earn one euro from it, but if the guests like it, they might come back in the evening," says Reuter. This plan works. He receives additional footfall from clubs, to whom he makes the rooms available free of charge. There are also company parties and numerous events with live music, for example.

Reasonable prices for the classics
A schnitzel with a side dish still costs less than 13 euros at Koci. How is that possible? "Through volume, of course. It's going well and we pass that on to our guests. You simply have to have a broad base and a lean management structure," he explains. For the Christmas season, the Koci is - how could it be otherwise - already well booked.