Tuesday, July 9, 2024

A Pub Story

 My wife and I have a small German pub in Wiesbaden that we occasionally will stop and have a beer there on the street.  

For years, an older guy ran it, and eventually the rental cost became an issue, and he quietly said 'enough' back last fall.....leaving the property for a new guy to set up a pub.

Back in December....this guy opened up the renovated pub, and what I noticed...the staff and kitchen help weren't of the same quality.  Starting back in March....if you view Google reviews....it's mostly 1 and 2 star recommendations....commenting on the food quality/quantity.  

This week....a sign went up....the boss fired the whole crew and the place was closed for a week or two....while hunting new people.

This is a ongoing crisis in Germany, where you really can't find that people who want to be in the restaurant/bar/pub/cafe business....since Covid came around.

The other side of this national problem.....the pay-scale is screwed up enough....that you have to offer old wages-marked-up by 50-percent to attract decent staff.  This means that virtually all of the menu items are heavily marked up. 

(Example; my wife and I ate out this afternoon.....typical currywurst plate, with pommes, and a soda each....coming to 23 Euro roughly.  Back five years ago, this would have been around 14 Euro.  

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