Take part!

Big choice: Nominate your favorite pub

Cheers! Which pub is your favorite place to raise a glass with your friends?(Bild: EVELYN HRONEK)

To kick off the joint "Wirtshauswahl 2024" by the Chamber of Commerce and the "Kärntner Krone", we want to know which is your favorite pub?

These are turbulent times for the local hospitality industry: inflation, staff shortages and bureaucracy are putting a strain on landlords and hosts. But in Carinthia in particular, socializing in the pub is still held in high regard. It's where people chat, have a drink, have a good time together, but also celebrate; it's where people meet up with acquaintances and friends they've known for a long time; it's where they feel comfortable and at home - in short, it's where local life takes place.

"It is precisely these places that we want to bring to the fore," says Stefan Sternad, Chairman of the Carinthian Chamber of Commerce for Gastronomy, explaining the reasons behind the search for the most popular pubs in the province. This is how the "Wirtshauswahl" was created this year in cooperation with the "Kärntner Krone"!

There are more than enough inns in Carinthia that lead the way as positive examples, see the current challenges as an opportunity and utilize the potential of our region. We want to offer such establishments a stage in the Wirtshauswahl so that they receive the appreciation they deserve.

Stefan Sternad, Obmann der Fachgruppe Gastronomie WKK

So you can take part!
And that's where you come in, dear readers. From today, you have the opportunity to nominate your favorite pub until 2 May.

Nomination phase closed
Thank you for the numerous entries, the nomination phase is closed. You will soon be able to find out which restaurant will soon be awarded the title of "Restaurant of the Year 2024" in your Krone!

"This campaign is a win-win situation, so to speak: the pubs get the recognition they deserve and Carinthians discover new quality establishments that they can try out," says Sternad happily. This is because the "Krone" presents the pub with the most nominations from each district, which also qualifies for the provincial winner's vote and the chance to win the title of "Pub of the Year 2024".

Award ceremony at the big Wirtewahl gala
In addition to an expert jury, you will also decide in the form of an online vote which pub will take first place. As the grand finale, the committed innkeepers and restaurateurs will be invited to the big Innkeepers' Choice Gala, where the final award ceremony will also take place. Take part!

Gastro chairman Stefan Sternad on the situation of Carinthian inns.(Bild: EVELYN HRONEK)

Gastro-Experte im Interview

„Im Wirtshaus menschelt´s einfach!“

"Krone": As gastronomy chairman of the Carinthian Chamber of Commerce, you launched the "Wirtshauswahl" this year - why?
Stefan Sternad: Our region - meaning the Alps-Adriatic region, after all, a region doesn't stop at the state border - has so much to offer. We want to give the inns a stage; to promote interaction between guests and innkeepers - our inn culture thrives on this and it must be upheld.

The situation in the hospitality industry is tense - is this business still worthwhile?
There are already proposed solutions to many of the challenges - they just need to be implemented. But the job of a restaurateur is to make guests happy. Through emotions and experiences. No other industry has such a promising future - because we simply have a human touch!

Is that appreciated?
Most of the time it is! Because if the pub dies, the place dies! I also see it as the guests' duty. The best support for the innkeeper is simply a visit!

What makes an inn for you? 
The landlord and landlady, of course!