Local “love of home” as a dream come true

“The anticipation is huge, the nervousness is still reasonably limited”, says Carina Egger. In nine days the time has come: The 29-year-old will open her new restaurant in the Revital Aspach building “love of home”. Where the pub used to be “Villa Vitalis” was, the Innviertlerin will bring fresh impetus to the Innviertel gastronomy scene from June 16th. The native of Aspacher returns to her homeland and to the place where she started her career.

“I started an apprenticeship at ‘Villa Vitalis’ around 14 years ago. I was even there when the restaurant opened. So now it kind of comes full circle”, says Egger with a hearty laugh. In the past few years, the woman from the Innviertel has gotten around a lot. She has worked in service and in the kitchen in renowned houses in Scotland, Sweden, on the Arlberg and Fuschl am See. Egger was in the award-winning restaurant for four years “aquarium” worked at the Therme Geinberg, two years as restaurant manager. Most recently, she managed two award-winning restaurants in a five-star hotel in Ischgl.

A bride stealing with consequences

Now Egger is drawn back home. “Becoming self-employed has been a big dream of mine since my apprenticeship.” The fact that she can now realize this in her home community is “great”. The starting point was at a wedding about two years ago. “A very good friend of mine from Aspach got married. While stealing the bride, I got into conversation with her father Georg Gattringer, the mayor of Aspacher. Among other things, we talked completely informally about my desire to open a restaurant. Then about a year and a half passed when he suddenly called me and said that he knew a suitable place for me. In November 2022 I took a look at the ‘Villa Vitalis’ and then the project quickly got going. An incredible coincidence”says Egger.

No staffing issues

In the past few weeks, the restaurant has been given a completely new design. “It’s going to be a very colourful, friendly restaurant”, says Egger. When asked how challenging the search for personnel is, the restaurateur answers: “I have eleven employees, seven full-time. I have worked with all of them, including in Geinberg and Ischgl. I know that I can fully rely on my team.”

The name “love of home” will be reflected in the menu. “We obtain the majority of our food from the immediate region. The quality of the food is everything, but a visit to Heimatliebe should still be affordable for everyone”says the 29-year-old.

The restaurant seats around 60 guests, and 45 more can be seated in the conservatory, which can be fully opened. “We rely on Austrian cuisine, which we bring creatively to the plate. Of course we will also have a classic schnitzel. There will also be various culinary highlights such as asparagus weeks, game weeks or barbecue evenings”, says the Aspacher woman. It goes without saying that the sommelier attaches great importance to the wine selection. “There will be around 150 wines on the menu. The special thing about it is that you can take every wine home with you at the farm-gate sale price”says Egger.

Video: Interview with Carina Egger

opening hours

The will be opened “love of home” on Friday 16 June. The restaurant (Revitalplatz) in Aspach is open Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Brunch is served both during the week (7 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.) and at the weekend (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.). More information is available on the website at
restaurant-heimatliebe.at; Telephone: 0676/6022266