Göttingen gastronomy under pressure: additional days off are threatened!

Göttingen gastronomy under pressure: additional days off are threatened!

What’s happening in Göttingen’s gastronomy? While the traditional rest days are constantly being discussed, many operators are expressing their uncertainty in the face of increasing costs and an acute shortage of staff. Although Mondays are traditionally closed, many providers are now forced to change this practice in order to make ends meet. Loud Göttingen Tageblatt For example, the Myer’s restaurant in Göttingen has adjusted its opening hours and is skipping Sundays entirely. Managing director Hari Neupane cites the increased operating costs and the lack of staff as the most pressing problems.

A look at the Esprit restaurant shows how different the reactions can be. Shortened opening hours had to be introduced here at the beginning of 2024, but this has now been lifted again under new management. As Olaf Feuerstein, chairman of the Dehoga district association Göttingen-Duderstadt, emphasizes, the failures are not equally distributed everywhere. Business closures are particularly common in rural areas.

Shortage of staff and cost pressure

The picture that presents itself is anything but rosy: the number of part-time students studying in the catering industry has been declining in Göttingen for years, which is putting additional pressure on the industry. The problem has worsened to such an extent that Neupane is talking about Sunday opening being unprofitable. “We don’t want to increase prices so as not to alienate our guests,” he explains, adding that current challenges such as the return to the 19 percent tax rate from 2024 are also putting restaurateurs under financial pressure. When you consider the current increases in food, beverage, staffing and energy, it quickly becomes clear why many businesses are failing.

Innovative solutions are required to counteract this trend. More and more catering businesses are now relying on the use of service robots and automation. Shows impressively Botomix, how such technologies can take on physically demanding tasks and at the same time increase the well-being of employees. Robots transport heavy trays or dishes, for example, and allow staff to concentrate on customer-oriented activities.

A look at the future

It is evident that the catering industry in Göttingen and beyond is facing major challenges. While cost pressure is growing due to rising food prices and rents, it remains to be hoped that measures such as a permanent reduction in VAT will be taken in the near future. Feuerstein also emphasizes that the restrictions on opening hours are not a nationwide phenomenon, although they are more noticeable in larger cities such as Hanover.

Saying goodbye to the culture of eating in a convivial atmosphere would be tragic, but the industry has proven itself many times. With clever solutions and a good hand, the catering industry could soon move into new, flourishing territory. The will to find solutions and remain flexible is an important step into the future.