Positive turnaround – Zagersdorf gets the cult inn “Gegi” back

Two years ago, the entrepreneur Ivica Parašilovac from Siegendorf acquired the former cult inn “Gegi” for 200,000 euros. Now it’s up for sale again. The municipality of Zagersdorf was awarded the contract. You can buy the cost 250,000 euros.

Sometimes you have to lose something to realize how important it was to you. This also applies to the love for the village inn. “The community should have struck in March 2020 when our long-standing village landlord Gerhard Freiberger sold the Gegi inn. But at that time, due to the corona lockdowns, it was not foreseeable how the economic situation would develop,” says Mayor Ivan Grujic from the SPÖ. In the meantime, Governor Hans-Peter Doskozil has assured him that the state will support the municipality financially with allocations as needed. Just 14 days after taking office in November last year, he held initial talks with Ivica Parašilovac – the entrepreneur from Siegendorf who bought the inn from Freiberger two years ago for 200,000 euros. In the course of these talks, the young local manager agreed that the municipality would be the first point of contact in the event of a sale. A price agreement was recently reached: “The municipality will acquire two-thirds of the property for EUR 250,000. Specifically, this is the entire inn and half of the covered multi-purpose hall. The previous owner will continue to use the remaining area as a warehouse. A corresponding division plan is currently being drawn up. Grujic assumes that not only the 14 SPÖ mandates will vote for it, but also the five ÖVP mandates. After all, an inn is the long-awaited wish of all Zagersdorfers and therefore a win for everyone. The profit of 50,000 euros that Parašilovac generates through the sale is also not to be despised. However, he himself puts this into perspective, because the installation of the new lines for electricity, water and sewage in the sanitary facilities would have cost a lot. “There were interested parties who would have shelled out 400,000 euros for the building. But I deliberately turned down these offers because money isn’t everything and the inn has emotional value for me as a former Zagersdorfer, too.” The people here always helped him. Now it’s time to give something back, says the Croatian. Open house for everyone A gesture that Mayor Grujic appreciates. In order to create a “meeting place” that “is within reach for everyone”, the implementation should not be “a scurrilous campaign”, but based on a well-considered concept. In the future, not only private parties, club celebrations and community events will take place in the premises, but also small wine tastings and company seminars. “Project development Burgenland GmbH will take care of the planning. (PEB) under the technical direction of Thomas Rosner. Over the winter, an evaluation will be made as to whether it should be completely renovated and gutted – or demolished and rebuilt. After all, part of the building is more than 90 years old. I don’t want any nasty surprises during the renovation. Either way, the village inn character and the Gegi brand name should remain, because traditions should be preserved,” says Grujic Wirtshaus in the construction work, which is scheduled to start in spring 2023. If there is enough space, a new doctor’s surgery could even be integrated into the building. On the site of the former milk hall opposite the inn, e-bike charging stations are also to be set up and cyclists will be invited to stop by. There are already the first interested tenants: a Hungarian gastronomy family and a well-known chef from Burgenland, who will serve traditional cuisine in the new “Gegi”. wants to offer. “I’m already looking forward to the opening party at the end of 2024 and would think it would be great if our long-standing cult host Gerhard Freiberger was behind the bar again on that day!” says Mayor Grujic.
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