Fearful days ahead

Rosengarten faces an uncertain future

Marco has always been in the kitchen.

(Bild: Gassler Markus)

Marco and Sonja Formisano have been synonymous with authentic Italian cuisine in Innsbruck since 2006. Years earlier, the couple cooked up a storm between Bavaria and Italy. But a stroke of fate changed everything.

"Eco, what are we cooking today?" Regulars at the "Rosengarten" in Innsbruck-Mühlau are more than familiar with this phrase. This is how Marco Formisano presents his menu. You immediately imagine yourself on vacation in Italy. But unfortunately this sentence will soon fade away. The reason: after all the blows of fate for the Formisano family, the end is now coming: the necessary structural repairs to Mühlau's sewage system, which will mean the total closure of Mühlau's village square for six months this summer, means the end of the much-loved Italian flair that Marco Formisano, his wife Sonja and their team conjure up on the ground floor of Gasthaus Koreth in Mühlau.

The rose garden on the main square.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

The food on the table is freshly bought in the morning and prepared in the original Italian style. From antipasto, fish and meat to pasta - everything the traditional Italian heart desires! The taste experience is accompanied by selected wines. Whether red or white, there are many treasures to be found in Marco's wine cellar and the new wine bar.

After my brother heard that the Rosengarten, then still in Claudiastrasse, was looking for a new tenant, we decided on Tirol.

Sonja Formisano

The spirited southerner from Ischia
Marco and Sonja have been spoiling guests with Italian delicacies in the provincial capital since 2006. He, the spirited southerner from Ischia, she, the loving East Tyrolean "Gitsche" from Matrei. Two fun-loving, friendly people and model innkeepers whose hearts beat for gastronomy despite all adversity. The couple have been pursuing their lifelong dream since 1993. "I was 15 years old and started an apprenticeship as a hairdresser at Coiffeur Gerhard in Kitzbühel," Sonja remembers vividly. Marco, then 18, worked as a chef in his uncle's restaurant "Barone" in the "Isola d'Ischia". The two of them hit it off at a company party - they have been an inseparable couple ever since.

Pictures from days gone by. After their time together in Bavaria, Sonja and Marco moved to Innsbruck.

(Bild: Gassler Markus)

Kitzbühel, Rosenheim, Ischia and Innsbruck
After a year, the uncle closed up shop and Marco moved on - together with his brothers - to a place near Rosenheim. "I had to finish my apprenticeship and went back home," says Sonja. Two years of long-distance relationship between Matrei and Rosenheim followed. When Sonja was 18, she followed her Marco to Bavaria. "I worked in the hairdressing salon during the day and in the restaurant in the evening," Sonja explains. And then in 2000, son Pietro was born - on Lake Chiemsee. After a six-month stopover at home with Marco on Ischia, the nomadic life came to an end. The question was: Ischia or Tyrol? "After my brother heard that the Rosengarten, then still in Claudiastrasse, was looking for a new tenant, we decided on Tyrol," Sonja explains.

That was a big shock, at first we didn't know what to do next. We received offers from all over Tyrol, but we wanted to stay in Innsbruck.

Sonja Formisano

Cancer came to the house after the coronavirus pandemic
What followed were some hard years of learning and all the more beautiful years of mastery. Word quickly spread about the Rosengarten as an insider tip, and the number of regular guests - including those from outside the region - grew year on year. But then came 2017 - and the first setback: the end of the lease in Claudiastrasse was not renewed. "That was a big shock, at first we didn't know what to do next. We received offers from all over Tyrol, but we wanted to stay in Innsbruck," recalls Sonja. And so they finally ended up at the "Koreth" inn in Mühlau. An incredibly big change. "It took us a year until we were a well-coordinated team and had the - much larger - business under control," says Sonja. Once everything was running smoothly, then came the coronavirus pandemic, an unforgettable and challenging time for the entire population.

Thanks to their flexibility and inventiveness, the two restaurateurs managed to survive these two bumpy years with constant openings and closures. When everything finally got back to normal in 2022, the next bad news came in October: Marco was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Despite the side effects, which were clearly leaving their mark, and regular treatment, Marco and Sonja continued to follow the path of gastronomy undeterred. Pampering his guests, always with a light-hearted remark on his lips - that is and remains Marco's elixir of life. As inventive as the Formisanos are, they have also adapted to these adversities. Since December, the Rosengarten has had a new manager in Wolfgang Daum (who ran the "Haneburger" in Wattental for many years). Marco is now only marginally employed due to his illness, while Sonja, who now works as a school assistant at the "Leitgeb 2" elementary school, helps out at weekends - in the kitchen as well as in service.

In Wolfgang Daum (right), Sonja and Marco have found a manager for the "Rosengarten 2", which is currently housed in the "Koreth" inn in Innsbruck-Mühlau.

(Bild: Gassler Markus)

How the story ends will also depend on the city, the state, the regular customers and everyone who cares about a functioning restaurant despite the challenging times. Due to the essential major construction site in Mühlau, the Rosengarten will be cut off from all transport links from July 2024. A challenge that can no longer be overcome.

Hope for a small restaurant in Innsbruck lives on
Nevertheless, Marco's will is unbroken. And so they are not giving up hope that they can continue to spread the Italian charm in Innsbruck in the future. What is needed? A small restaurant where Marco can continue to live his passion. And perhaps a third Rosengarten will be found, so that love wins out over suffering in the Rosengarten in the end!