“Starnberger Alm” comes to life - in Cologne

Created: 12/28/2021, 9:00 AM

From: Peter Schiebel

A famous name is returning: “Starnberger Alm” will be the name of an inn that is due to open in Cologne in mid-January.

© Apeiron

More than six years after the “Starnberger Alm” was demolished, there will be another pub with this name from January - not in Starnberg, but in Cologne.

It is the latest coup from the Starnberg brewery.

Starnberg - There was no more tavern tradition in Starnberg. In 1864 an inn called "Beim Steyrer" was founded on the Schlossberg. Other names followed before the "Starnberger Alm" established itself in 1913. More than 150 years of tavern history ended with its demolition in 2015. Now the name "Starnberger Alm" is returning - in Cologne. A “Starnberger Alm” is due to open there in mid-January, i.e. in a few weeks. And that right on Heumarkt, the second largest square in the metropolis. There are two partners behind the project: the owner of the Starnberg brewery, Florian Schuh, and Kent Hahne, founder and managing director of the system catering company Aperion from Bonn.

Schuh owns the naming rights to the term “Starnberger Alm” after he bought the inn from the previous owner in 2007.

And in Wieling he produces up to 70,000 hectoliters of beer a year, mainly light and wheat beer.

Hahne, on the other hand, has been active in system catering for years and, according to the company's website, is the largest franchisee of "L'Osteria" with 23 restaurants.

With the "Starnberger Alm" the two are now doing something together.

Florian Schuh, owner of the Starnberg Brewery © private

Hahnes company Aperion set up the inn in the former premises of an Italian restaurant. Inside there are around 80 seats on two floors, outside there are another 164 seats, as reported by the website 24rhein.de. “If you want to have a quick cup of coffee or a beer and have a bite to eat, then you have come to the right place below. The restaurant is on the upper floor. There the guests can relax and enjoy the meal or drink delicious cocktails, ”Hahnes son Tyler Hahne, who is also the managing director of Apeiron, is quoted there. If nothing comes up in the next few weeks, it would have taken just five months from the first idea to the opening.

"Kent Hahne likes what we do," says Florian Schuh in an interview with Starnberger Merkur.

Above all, the quality of the beer has convinced the restaurateur, and the logistics for the transport from Wieling to Cologne have since been clarified.

“The guests also expect top quality,” says Schuh.

Otherwise, visitors to Cologne should also be served Bavarian lifestyle - that ranges from the menu (Hahne: “We will offer some classics, but reinterpreted”) to the service in traditional costume.

“One or two kegs of Starnberg beer will also be on display in the guest room,” says Schuh.

There are also merchandising products from Lake Starnberg - from beer mugs and traditional costumes to hoodies, all with the Starnberger Brauhaus logo.

If Schuh has its way, the “Starnberger Alm” on Cologne's Heumarkt shouldn't be left alone for long.

Depending on how the inn is received there, he is already thinking about other locations and, together with a strong partner, can also imagine locations in Hamburg or Berlin.

"If things get off to a good start, I assume that there will be more Starnberg alpine pastures," says Schuh.

He would like to set up a “Starnberger Alm” somewhere on Lake Starnberg, but the right property is missing.

If you have a tip that leads to success, Schuh promises you free beer for life.

Incidentally, Cologne is not the only destination Florian Schuh has in mind.

Starnberg beer has recently been served in the four-star superior hotel “My Alpenwelt Resort” in Königsleiten in the Salzburg region.