On the Reeperbahn at half past 12 in the morning…

…there’s not much going on at the moment. Strictly speaking, Hamburg’s neighbourhood has been dormant for weeks. For most landlords, this is slowly threatening their existence. That’s why Germany’s most famous drag queen, Olivia Jones drew attention to the situation of the gastronomy in Germany and beyond, and thus also in Salzburg, in a remarkable action last night (7.05.) in Hamburg St. Pauli. “We were the first to close and will be the last to be allowed to reopen,” and further “there is talk about gastronomy, but mainly about hotels and restaurants. But we clubs, bars and pubs are not talked about at all”. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5usY3AEsp10 Yesterday evening (7.05.) in Hamburg St. Pauli

In her moving speech, Olivia stressed that part of the joy of life is having your favourite bar around the corner or your favourite club to hang out in. That is systemically relevant, especially after the crisis. But with minimum distance and masks, how can that work? And for how long?

Wolfgang from the Dark Eagle in Salzburg agrees. It is simply not feasible to serve drinks only at tables. The bar is not allowed to be used if the gastronomy is allowed to reopen under certain conditions, like in the HOSI on 15.05. The bar in the Dark Eagle is the central area of the shop. What’s the point of having tables there? And since the basement with the game rooms has to stay closed for a while anyway, Wolfgang will not open again until the beginning of June at the earliest. The situation of the gastronomy is anything but rosy. It is to be hoped that Olivia Jones’ symbolic wreath-laying ceremony yesterday in Hamburg will contribute to politicians finally not only announcing decisions but also making them. Because things are getting tight.

Café Wernbacher – quo vadis?

Bernhard Huemer, for example, will not continue to run Café Wernbacher in Salzburg. Café Wernbacher is an old Viennese coffee house in Franz-Josef-Straße in the style of its time. An institution and simply wonderful.

With Bernhard, a gastronome and doer in Salzburg’s Andräviertel for 17 years is handing over the baton. If the Wernbacher reopens on 15 May, it will be with a different operator. Distortions of this kind will probably become more frequent in the next few weeks – especially in the gastronomy sector. You can read about the overall situation in Salzburg’s trendy gastronomy here.

www.dark-eagle.at

Published 9. May 2020Updated 6. June 2023
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