Thousands of euros

Sausage stand donates tips for sick children

Grill-Imbiss employee Christian Schwarzenbrunner donates his entire tip(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

Since 2012, the boss and staff at the Salzburger Grill snack bar near the Kollegienkirche have foregone their tips. Year after year, they donate it to a good cause. The next donation will be handed over soon.

Voluntarily giving up a tip is something of a rarity. For Raymond Mair and his employee Christian Schwarzenbrunner, this is a matter of course. Since 2012, every cent that Mair earns from his sausage stand in Salzburg's Wiener-Philharmoniker-Gasse has been donated to a good cause. This year, almost 14,000 euros in tips - and donations from regular guests - were donated again.

"As the boss, I wouldn't take the tip anyway," says the sausage stand owner with his heart in the right place. "But the thanks don't belong to me, but to Christian. He waives a substantial amount." Schwarzenbrunner has been frying sausages in the snack bar near the Kollegienkirche since 2015. The tip donation was a condition of his employment. He gladly agreed.

For me as a boss, it goes without saying that I donate the tip. But I respect the fact that my employee Christian is also doing without. That's a great story.

Raymond Mair, Salzburger Grill Imbiss

84,000 euros already collected and donated
Mair and Schwarzenbrunner now both have families. It is now even easier for them to donate to sick children and their families. Every year, the donations go to the children's cancer charity and a butterfly children's association. Both organizations each receive half of the donations.

A total of 84,000 euros has already been collected in this way since 2012 and donated to the associations. This year, Raymond Mair initially had doubts as to whether enough would be raised. For the first time, it was possible to pay for currywurst, bosna and hot dogs with a card. According to Mair, the willingness to tip is actually lower than when paying in cash. However, 2024 exceeded the previous year's result by 2,000 euros. This was also because regular customers collected money at private parties and handed it over to Mair.