No gastro death – restaurants are looking for staff – but more and more companies – news

Is gastronomy in crisis? Not necessarily. For three years there have been more start-ups than closures. However: Traditional pubs in smaller communities suffer greatly from the shortage of skilled workers.

Oberberg Castle in Gossau (SG) is a landmark in the region. The previous tenants have spoiled their guests with culinary delights here for twelve years. But now it’s over – at least for the time being.

Dominik Eisenegger, President of the Oberberg Castle Friends’ Association, says: “Unfortunately, we only have a solution for a very short period of use.” A new tenant would have to be found in four months – then preferably for a longer period of time.

We only have a solution for four months.

The President blames the acute shortage of skilled workers in particular for the fact that the search is difficult: “The restaurateurs do not have the courage to start something new at the moment. They doubt whether they can get the staff together for it, »observes Eisenegger.

No gastro deaths across the board

However, a look at the commercial register shows that in the last three years there have been significantly more start-ups than closures in the catering trade. how come The editor-in-chief of the magazine “Salz & Pfeffer”, Sarah Kohler, notes that a lack of specialist staff is a problem, especially in rural areas: “I think you shouldn’t talk about a dying out of restaurants per se, but rather about a dying out of pubs.”

Kohler blames the structural change in the industry for the overall increase in supply. The gastronomy is becoming more and more diverse. This would not only include country and neighborhood bars, but also gourmet temples, pizza delivery services, takeaways, mobile catering or a company canteen. Overall, there is no death.

Especially in the cities, the supply seems to be increasing rather than decreasing. Gastrosuisse also makes this clear to SRF: “The term ‘gastro death’ does not apply to the entire industry.” The number of companies, as is often wrongly passed around, has not changed with the Corona measures. “The number of members in the association is stable.”

The peripheral regions lack skilled workers

Traditional companies, on the other hand, depend on skilled workers. These are hard to find, especially in more remote regions. That’s why the operators of the “Casa Fausta Capaul” restaurant in Brigels (GR) are giving up after three years. The host couple Tobias Lechmann and Selina Lechmann-Albrecht would have liked more family time in addition to the business. “We’ve actually been looking for a deputy for my wife since we opened,” says Tobias Lechmann.

The shift work and rather low wages were probably the biggest obstacles in the search, along with the location of the restaurant. Aware of this, the innkeeper couple offered generous working conditions – such as eight weeks vacation. Without success. Applications have hardly been received and the progress is still the same as it was three years ago.

The “Casa Fausta Capaul” is popular in the region and the business figures are good. But the overall calculation no longer works for the landlord couple. “Otherwise one of us would have to be in the kitchen from morning to night.”

It’s not worth it to them, says Tobias Lechmann. Whether the operation in the oldest restaurant in the village can continue with new operators is an open question. The search for a successor is ongoing.