But there is a “but”, as two innkeepers tell us who are members of the successful OÖN campaign “Wirtshaus to go”.
“We open on Friday, but we have to close on the weekends anyway and then take our Christmas and New Year holidays until January 9,” says Hans Weidinger from the Seewalchner Gustobox. That means a single open day before the holidays and the turn of the year. Does it pay off? Weidinger: “We have stored up, and the good things don’t turn out bad.”
The Gustobox stayed afloat in lockdown with food and drink that was offered to take away. “We also delivered regionally,” said Weidinger. “From Monday to Friday at lunchtime. That was very well received, but delivery and collection is definitely a losing business. It’s a motivation for my cook and the staff. That’s what it’s about.”
Christoph Bergthaler, head of the traditional Engelhof inn in Gmunden, can report something similar. The boiling and delivery could only cushion the loss of income slightly: “What helps a little now is the voucher business. That the companies say, instead of the Christmas party, they give the employees vouchers.”
The announcement that he was allowed to unlock again triggered mixed feelings in him, says Bergthaler: “On the one hand, I expected it and feared that the lockdown for the catering industry would take longer; on the other hand, my employees have already prepared themselves for them over Christmas will still be free. But we’d like to open earlier. “
Source: Nachrichten
