"Don't get more expensive"

A plea for reasonable beer prices

Beer consumption per capita in Austria is just under 100 liters within a year.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Tobias Hase)

He is not an "angry landlord", but a professional pub owner from Schattendorf is not one to talk down the restaurant scene either. He defends himself against the criticism of being a "price driver".

Wilhelm "Willi" Grafl is a landlord with heart and soul. And has been for a very long time. He can look back on a proud 48 years in which he has been self-employed and has always gone his own way. The gastronomic warhorse wants to continue to provide his loyal regulars with pleasurable (culinary) delights for a few more years.

Willi Grafl wants to set an example. He is "freezing" beer prices on his own initiative.

(Bild: Judt Reinhard)

 "I don't dislike the work yet," admits the passionate innkeeper, who runs the wine tavern on the main street in the border town of Schattendorf in the Mattersburg district. However, he has been annoyed by the general rise in prices for months. However, a TV report in which the innkeepers were slammed as "price drivers" and "inflation feeders" broke the camel's back.

"Leave the church in the village, but also the inns" 
It may well be true, says Grafl, that large restaurants and staff-intensive hotels, including wellness oases, have significantly increased prices. "However, the clocks run differently in the countryside. You should leave the church in the village - and the inns," Grafl remarks with a serious face: "Sowing discord only drives the death of the inns."

Let the €4.40 Krügerl melt in your mouth
Like many other pubs, Grafl only increased the price of a Krügerl beer by 20 cents to €4.40 in January. The price of a Seidel was raised by ten cents to €3.30. "Otherwise the prices have remained the same. We have village pubs and know most of our guests personally. We don't want to put too much strain on their wallets," emphasizes the landlord. "Unfortunately, we are all lumped together when it comes to negative TV reports." With his heart closely tied to the restaurant business, the landlord draws his conclusions. Although this decision will not help him financially, he intends to wait a long time before the next price increase for barley juice in the wine tavern. Grafl: "At the beginning of 2025, it will remain at 4.40 euros for a stein and 3.30 for a pint." The guests will probably like it.