Support for young innkeepers

Inn bonus helps the industry on its way

Down-to-earth cuisine with regional ingredients: Governor Mikl-Leitner enjoys a tasty meal with young restaurateur Michael Fabich, who received a prize on her behalf.(Bild: NLK/Pfeffer)

The pub package launched at the beginning of the year has hit the mark: 175 hosts across the country want to modernize their businesses and make them more attractive. Now the "Wirtshaus-Prämie" is also benefiting 14 businesses throughout the province - including a young landlord in the Weinviertel region.

"The projects submitted as part of the Wirtshaus-Paket 2024 (pub package 2024) comprise a funding volume of four million euros and trigger more than 20 million euros in investments," said Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner at the first presentation of the Lower Austrian pub bonus of 10,000 euros at Michael Fabich's business in Obermarkersdorf in the district of Hollabrunn.

This amount also goes to 14 innkeepers throughout the state who play an important supply function in the regions. As a representative, the Governor has chosen a special inn for the presentation of a "Wirtshaus-Prämie".

Young innkeeper has fulfilled his dream
The "Krone" has already reported on the modern Franz Josephs-Wirtshaus in Obermarkersdorf: in 2023, Michael Fabich converted the former kindergarten, which he once attended himself, into an extension with a shady garden and transformed the building into a place of enjoyment with a well-stocked wine list.

After decades without a restaurant, it has become a lively meeting place for young and old. "We offer traditional cuisine with a modern twist. The central location was decisive for me to breathe new social life back into the village with an important central meeting place," says the landlord.

Funding revitalizes villages and triggers investment
On the occasion of the representative handover for the remaining 13 pub bonuses distributed in Lower Austria, Mikl-Leitner was particularly pleased "that many young people are also discovering a love of gastronomy and setting up new businesses based on traditional models." One aim of the campaign was also to trigger significant investment that would also benefit other regional businesses, for example in the construction industry or in the skilled trades, through the subsidized investments.