Günther Jauch: Restaurant in his villa has to close

In 2019, TV presenter Günther Jauch (67) opened the restaurant “Villa Kellermann” in Potsdam together with star chef Tim Raue (50) and made it an address for gourmets. Around five years later, the top restaurant has to close. It says: “We are happy to accept your reservations until June 21, 2024. After that, Villa Kellermann will be closed for operational reasons.”

“We would have loved to have continued, but Corona, sharply increased operating costs and a tense personnel situation did not allow for any other decision,” it said in a statement. We look back on “almost five years with many great moments” and are very sorry about the end.

Tim Raue retired from the company in 2023

Günther Jauch bought the villa on Holy Lake in the Brandenburg state capital in 2016 and had it renovated in accordance with listed building standards. There are nine luxury apartments on the three upper floors. In 2019, the RTL presenter opened the restaurant with Tim Raue on the ground floor of the villa. However, the chef retired from the business in 2023 and handed over to his head chef Christopher Wecker.

Villa Kellermann has an eventful history

The house, built in 1914, looks back on an eventful history. It is named after the writer Bernhard Kellermann. From around 1919 the house – then called Villa von Hardt – belonged to a Jewish banker who fled to Switzerland in 1932 and later to the USA, where he died in 1933. His heirs were expropriated by the Nazis through a compulsory auction in 1938. The Wehrmacht military command then moved into the house. During GDR times, the villa was the headquarters of the Cultural Association and a meeting place for intellectuals, writers and artists. From 1994 the villa belonged to the Jewish Claims Conference (JCC). From 2005 until Jauch’s purchase, it was owned by heirs of the cosmetics company Wella.