An Austrian café transformed in the midst of the pandemic

【Reporter Connection】

Guangming Daily reporter Jiao Zhisong

Since December 2020, the COVID-19 situation in Europe has further deteriorated, and the Austrian government has adopted a third lockdown policy. Despite the adjustment of the lockdown policy since the end of January this year, the restaurant industry is still far from being able to open its doors to customers. The strong lockdown not only plunged the country's economy into depression, but also made Europe's already cold winters seem even longer. For Austrians, who have always paid attention to cultural life, the epidemic and the lockdown have stopped the elegant and interesting habits of drinking coffee, eating desserts and watching dramas, which are quite confused.

For café operators, however, the loss of the lockdown is not only a matter of boring life, but also a question of how to continue to make ends meet. Among the many cafes, the centuries-old Demer Café is one of the cafes that has completed the transformation from "court aristocracy" to "new Internet celebrities" under the epidemic.

The picture shows people stopping to watch in front of the window of the Demel Café. Courtesy of Jiao Zhisong

Once a royal confectionery shop

There are nearly a thousand cafés in Austria, and the Austrian tradition of afternoon tea dates back to the late 17th and early 18th centuries, more than 300 years ago. There is a saying in Vienna that "the typical Viennese café is not only a restaurant for drinking coffee and eating cakes, but also an extension of the Viennese living room." "Austria's strong coffee culture is evident. That's why Vienna's café culture was inscribed on the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2011.

Together with the Sach Café and the Central Café, de Meer Café is one of the three most beautiful cafes in Vienna. European cafes are generally also dessert shops, where coffee and desserts are paired to form a sumptuous afternoon tea, and some cafes also sell brunch, light salad or dinner. Located near the Hofburg Palace in Vienna's inner-city district, Café DeMel was built in 1786 by a royal architect and decorated in a gorgeous Rococo style, and you can still feel the Austro-Hungarian Empire when you walk into the café hall today. When the café was built, it was served desserts to Emperor Franz Joseph and Princess Sissi of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was also a meeting place for Viennese aristocrats and celebrities from all walks of life. Despite the eventual collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Demer Café has endured and become a symbol of Viennese coffee culture.

"New Internet celebrities" in the epidemic

The impact of the strict lockdown on the economy has not been spared, and the former Royal Palace Café has not been spared, and the Demel Café has laid off a large number of employees, and as many as 30 employees who have been serving the café for many years have unfortunately lost their jobs. Although layoffs can reduce the cost of the enterprise for a while, it cannot bring long-term economic benefits to the enterprise, and the original "proud" Royal Cafe has also embarked on the road to the transformation of "net red shop".

The windows of the Demeer Café are unique, with red curtains pulled up at both ends like a curtain on the stage, and in the center of the window is a doll made with sweets and a variety of exquisite snacks, attracting passers-by to stop and watch. In today's window, two top pastry chefs moved the production process of the emperor pancake that should have been completed in the back kitchen to the front of the stage, from putting in the dough, adding accessories to the final production, the window has become a real small theater, the pedestrians taking pictures and videos in front of the window are endless, and some pedestrians will upload their videos to social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, which attracts more and more people to come to watch and take away a favorite dessert by the way. No wonder some call the Windows of the DeMer Café "the sweetest theater" in Vienna.

In order to better prevent the epidemic, the coffee shop has added a lot of new regulations while attracting customers: the sign that reads "Welcome" at the gate has been replaced by "Please maintain social distancing"; the store has set up a small signal light at the door to guide guests to queue up in an orderly manner and limit the flow of customers; all guests enter the ordering port in the same direction, order desserts and drinks separately, pass through the corridor, pay at the checkout window of the souvenir shop inside the café, and finally leave through the back door without going back Takeaway food purchased should be 50 meters away from the café to avoid customers gathering at the entrance of the store. In addition to this, all staff receive weekly nucleic acid testing to maximize food safety and the health of guests.

It is reported that Demel Café can currently sell more than 700 emperor pancakes a day, of which small pancakes (150 grams) are sold for 5.9 euros, and large parts (250 grams) are sold for 7.9 euros, which is still very impressive in the case of the city lockdown. People who come to buy desserts usually buy a cup of classic Austrian Milunge coffee together. Vanilla cakes and apricot cakes are also popular with customers. The reporter met many customers who came to buy desserts at the entrance of the café, and a customer named Stefan said that this was his second visit to Demel's coffee shop during the epidemic, before he accidentally saw the video forwarded by others on social networks, and he couldn't wait to witness the production process of the emperor pancake. He thinks the café practice is so wonderful that everyone can enjoy delicious desserts during the epidemic, and now his favorite is the emperor pancake without plum and plum sauce.

The recovery of the food and beverage tourism industry is difficult

Recently, the third wave of the epidemic in Europe has been menacing, the number of confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in many countries has rebounded, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in Austria has exceeded 500,000, while the epidemic in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland in eastern Austria is particularly serious, and the number of new confirmed cases far exceeds the second wave of the epidemic in the autumn and winter of last year, and the intensive care bed is overwhelmed. On March 24, after hours of meetings and discussions, the Austrian government decided to impose further lockdown measures on the three states where the epidemic was severe during Easter: reopening shops and barbershops that had already opened; all employees were quarantined at home for 24 hours; all schools were taught online before April 9; and conditional units were able to work from home. The restaurant industry, which has been under lockdown for five months, was scheduled to reopen on March 27, but in the face of a new round of the epidemic, hopes of opening doors to customers have once again vanished. According to the latest news, Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland have decided to impose lockdown measures from April 1 to 11.

In response to the plight of the catering industry under the epidemic, the Austrian government spent 500 million euros on assisting the catering industry last year, and adopted a series of measures such as tax reductions, and all catering owners received subsidies equivalent to 80% of the normal turnover in November last year, which is a big expense for the government. However, in the face of the unsealing of the blockade measures, huge amounts of aid are also a drop in the bucket, and on March 22, some catering operators gathered in front of the Austrian Prime Minister's Office to protest the government's epidemic prevention policy. Mario Pulcker, president of the Austrian Restaurant Association, said the government should at least give the restaurant industry a latest time to unblock, rather than delaying it as it is now, so that the restaurant industry can see no hope. Pulke also said that many catering industry practitioners have chosen to participate in continuing education and training and turn to other jobs. He called on the government to adopt more support for the catering industry, including extending the tax reduction policy to 2022 and increasing the amount of subsidies to help the catering industry tide over the difficulties. Harald Mahler, president of the Austrian Federation Chamber of Commerce, also said the government should adopt a step-by-step unblocking policy for the restaurant industry, such as taking the lead in liberalizing the outdoor area of restaurants for dining, rather than "one-size-fits-all" lockdowns as they are now. According to the Vienna Tourist Board, vienna's tourism industry will not return to its pre-epidemic state until 2024.

(Guangming Daily, Vienna, April 1)

Guangming Daily (2021-04-02 12 edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily