Classic cafés close: Saarbrücken experiences gastronomy crisis!
Classic cafés close: Saarbrücken experiences gastronomy crisis!
In the Nauwies district of Saarbrücken and at the St. Johanner Markt, two important restaurants close: the Café Precision and Lilli’s cake workshop. As Sol.de was initiated, as the economic situation made it impossible.
The closures of the two cafes are due to the dramatic development in the German hospitality industry. Corona pandemic, which has been raging since 2020, has hit large parts of the industry. Despite initial attempts to improve the situation by adjusting the team and support of the regular guests, the success failed to do the success. The team describes the challenges as a "imperceptible scree shaft", which ultimately could no longer be overcome. In the spring of 2025, the decision was made to avoid the "ripcord" to avoid greater damage.
causes of closure
Both locations have been awarded sustainable concepts and regional cuisine. The café precious could be operated for 34 years, while Lilli’s cake workshop was only opened four years ago. In an emotional farewell, the team thanks its long -time guests and supporters. However, the pressure from the ongoing inflation also has devastating effects that could not be ignored.
In 2023, around 48,000 catering businesses entered in Germany, with 6,100 bankruptcy applications, as zdf.de . The study by Creditreform shows that the insolven wave in the catering trade has just started. Last year, every tenth company closed in the industry. The number of closures was 14,000 higher than in the three years before, but still below the level before pandemic.
The consequences of inflation
The latest developments are due to several factors. Inflation, the increase in VAT and higher operating costs in particular cause enormous loads. VAT for dishes was increased from 7 % to 19 % in early 2023, which also tightened the situation. In 2023, the sales of gastronomy, adjusted sales, were an average of 13 % below the 2019.
Petri-Ludwig Hantzsch, head of creditreform business research, indicates that the catering trade is badly affected by the crises of recent years. In 2023, the caterer and catering service sector in particular recorded an increase in bankruptcies by 67 %. The bankruptcies in restaurants and restaurants rose by 32 %, but remain below the level before pandemic.
Small companies are particularly affected, with 88 % of the bankruptcies that affect companies with up to 10 employees. 49 % of the bankruptcies are eliminated by companies that are a maximum of five years old. For 2024, another increase in bankruptcy cases will be forecast to the stand before the pandemic. Estimates indicate that by the end of 2024 more than 15,000 catering businesses in Germany could be at risk of insolvency. Overall, the signs for gastronomy stand on storm. The developments related to the closures of Café Precision and Lilli’s cake workshop impressively illustrate the challenges that many companies in Germany are facing, as well as DetailsQuellen