Popular Tettnang restaurant Krea” is closing due to a lack of staff!

Popular Tettnang restaurant Krea” is closing due to a lack of staff!

Despite full restaurants and high demand, Lothar Kustermann will close his restaurant “Krea” in Tettnang. This decision, which is already causing a stir in the catering sector, was made due to a lack of staff and rising costs Swabian reported. Kustermann, who started a takeaway business in 2015 and opened a restaurant on Montfortstrasse in 2021, is now forced to only offer takeaway and catering, including a lunch menu, from September. A difficult situation, whereby the premises are retained and the kitchen continues to be used.

Anyone who knows the name “Krea” will certainly remember the creative sushi rolls, including vegan and vegetarian variations. These culinary delights have made the restaurant a meeting place for gourmets. Nevertheless, Kustermann repeatedly had to close at short notice because it lacked qualified staff. Despite the introduction of a four-day week, the challenges in the service sector remain apparently insurmountable. Like other catering businesses, Kustermann is struggling with the increased prices for high-quality ingredients, especially fish.

Difficult conditions for the catering industry

As the ZDF reports, the shortage of staff in the industry is an ongoing problem, especially since the corona pandemic. The catering industry is under pressure: Sales in catering in Baden-Württemberg fell by 7 percent in 2024 alone and an inflation-adjusted decline of 6.2 percent is also expected for 2025.

It's not just the lack of skilled workers that worries restaurateurs. Customers' price sensitivity has also increased, which severely limits the ability to pass on increased costs to guests. According to the Federal Statistical Office, sales in the hospitality industry fell by 1.3 percent in August 2023. This development shows how badly the industry is suffering from the current economic circumstances.

Industry in transition

A survey of around 4,000 employees in the catering industry reveals further challenges: In 2022, there were around 100,000 fewer employees on duty than before the pandemic. Although the number of companies has now reached the 2019 level, sales remain behind the 2019 values. Over 104 billion euros were generated at that time, while last year the industry only barely came close to the 100 billion euro mark, according to the analysis by Gastivo shows.

The hospitality industry is faced with the task of making itself more attractive to employees. Poor pay, unclear rosters and high demands are reasons why many employees left the industry. The NGG union is therefore demanding a starting gastronomy wage of 3,000 euros gross after training has been completed in order to be able to retain staff in the long term.

As far as the eye can see, restaurateurs like Kustermann have to find creative solutions. The Bornheimer Ratskeller in Frankfurt, where innkeeper Mario Furlanello had to serve himself to cope with the situation, also shows how the industry is improvising. It remains exciting to see how the catering industry will develop in the coming months and what new concepts operators will introduce to create better working conditions and boost business again.