Traditional houses out

Death of inns due to inflation and retirement

Managing director Simon Masek had a different idea of being a landlord.(Bild: Zwefo)

The traditional restaurant "Zum Nepomuk" in Vienna-Favoriten has closed, the new operator of the "Wambacher" in the district of Hietzing is insolvent. The restaurant industry is in crisis. The "Krone" spoke to an experienced restaurateur about the problems and the need for a rethink.

Simon Masek took over the "Wambacher" wine tavern restaurant in the 13th district in November 2020. That's why he fell over for the corona subsidies, Masek claims. Even more than corona, however, high inflation has hit the business. This has led to the tenant and his operating company "MasekGenussGmbH" filing for insolvency. The owners of the "Wambacher" have nothing to do with this.

It's not just him: according to surveys by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, there were 374 restaurants in the capital as of December 31, 2023. In the previous year, there were 394.