No successors as Burgenland inns continue to close

Traditional inns in the Jennersdorf district are facing closure or have already shut down as owners struggle to find successors, ORF reports. Rising costs, staff shortages and declining customer numbers are adding to the pressure.

The Gasthof zur Römersiedlung in Königsdorf, which opened in 1973, has been closed since the beginning of September. The Traverse restaurant opposite shut down a year ago. In Rudersdorf, a successor is being sought for the Montefusco pizzeria, while the Gasthaus Angela is temporarily closed for renovations.

Matthias Mirth, chairman of the sector association, said the lack of successors, high costs, staff shortages and fewer guests were the main reasons for the decline of inns. He also pointed to changing eating habits, including the trend towards vegetarian and vegan food and the growing popularity of fast food.

Fewer people were taking the time to sit together in an inn, Mirth said. That social interaction was necessary to keep the hospitality sector alive, he added: “Communication in inns used to be a given, and we have to bring that back.”

Building to be demolished after search fails

There are further examples of the decline in the Jennersdorf district. In Heiligenkreuz, the traditional Gasthaus Gibiser is due to be demolished. The innkeeper stepped down at the end of 2024, and the Oberwarter Siedlungsgenossenschaft, the housing cooperative that owns the building, was unable to find a successor.

A new building without a restaurant will therefore be constructed next year. It will contain 13 flats, a specialist medical practice and four terraced houses.

The original plan was to preserve part of the existing building. However, OSG chairman Alfred Kollar said further inspections by the cooperative’s technicians had shown that the structure was in such poor condition that maintaining its stability would have required very substantial expenditure.

Possible event venue planned

The OSG also owns the building housing the Gasthaus Hirtenfelder in Windisch Minihof. The innkeeper, Karin Siegl, stepped down at the end of 2025. If no operator is found in the coming months, the cooperative plans to implement an alternative with the municipality.

The building’s large event hall is central to the plan, Kollar said. He said venues were being sought for events, individual functions and celebrations, and that a kind of event venue was therefore being considered. Discussions had begun and the municipality was fully supporting the plan, he said.