Children of steakhouse heiress Christina Block are said to have been kidnapped in Denmark. Block House founder Eugen Block has built a company that doesn’t just consist of steakhouses.
by Jan Gänger
The history of the Block empire began more than 50 years ago. The 25-year-old is traveling from the Lower Saxony province Eugene Block in the 60s–years in the USA – and brings an idea that is as simple as it is successful to Germany: steakhouses with the rustic charm of log cabins.
In 1968, Block opened his first restaurant in Hamburg with wood-paneled walls and red and white checkered tablecloths. “It was immediately clear to me that we need these types of cozy restaurants here too Germany“he said in 2018 “Hamburger Morgenpost“. To begin with, he fried the steaks himself. “Back then, eating out was a luxury. But because of the Block House, people now went out to eat more often, not just on special occasions. This was my pioneering work.“
His wife Christa was at his side. “My husband raved about the wooden tables, affordability and quick service“she said in the joint interview. “He definitely had a clear idea of everything.“
Today there are a total of 55 of these restaurants, 44 of which are in Germany and 11 in other European countries. According to the company, more than 1,200 people are employed in this area. On average, around 7,440 steak meals are sold every day. Block House is the largest steak restaurant chain in Germany.
The steaks have come from our own butcher shop since 1973. In order to use the meat that could not be used for steaks, Block founded the Jim Block burger chain that same year – the first store was also in Hamburg opened around the time Burger King and McDonald’s ventured across the Atlantic. There are currently twelve Jim Blocks, in Hamburg, Berlin and Hanover. The entrepreneur also brought the idea for the burger shops with him from the USA.
Eugen Block: a meticulous boss
The restaurants and burger shops belong to the block group, which consists of a total of 18 companies. This also includes the butcher shop and a logistics center, a fish storerestaurant with a hotel near Lake Schalsee in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and a brewery at the Hamburg Landungsbrücken. The group sells block house products such as steaks, burgers and sauces in retail. The luxury Hotel Elysée in Hamburg, which opened in 1985, is also part of the empire.
In total, the block group employs almost 2,400 people. The family business wrote 2020 in view of Coronapandemic is in the red for the first time since it was founded. Losses were in the double-digit million range and sales were 308 millions Euro. More current figures are not available.
Block is considered a meticulous boss who even took care of the holes in salt shakers. He once failed with a Hamburg airline. “I overestimated myself back then“Block admitted in an interview with the “Time“ a.
Block, now 83, has not been involved in operational business for several years. He was married to his wife Christa until her death in September last year. The common ones Children Dirk, Philipp and Christina are involved in the group and are members of the advisory board. They take on operational tasks in the group “t online“ according to not. Her father relies on managers from outside the family. The three should each inherit the company in equal shares.
Note: This article first appeared at
Source: Stern
