Festwirt family Pianka: Farewell to the Erdinger Herbstfest

Created: 08/18/2022, 08:00

By: Wolfgang Krzizok

The first arrival at the Erdinger Herbstfest: Angie and Uwe Pianka were the new landlords in the Weißbräuzelt in 1992.

© private

After 30 years, the Pianka family, the innkeepers, are retiring from the Erdinger Herbstfest.

Uwe and Mario Pianka look back on an eventful time in the Weißbräuzelt.

Erding – An era is coming to an end in the Weißbräuzelt at the Erdinger Herbstfest.

In 1992, the Pianka family was responsible for running the tent for the first time.

30 years later, she hands over the reins to the Schmidt family.

Angie and Uwe Pianka ran the Isareck restaurant in Wang near Moosburg in the early 1990s.

Weißbräu boss Werner Brombach, tax consultant Sigi Zanker and dentist Klaus Scheiner came to see him from time to time, Uwe Pianka recalls.

One day Brombach asked if the innkeepers would like to take over the Weißbräu - and they said yes.

“It used to be like this: the Weißbräu landlord is also the festival landlord.

But we didn't know that at the time," says Uwe Pianka, who was born in Munich.

First it was the Krämer family, later the Dangl family.

“And then, at the beginning of 1992, when we took over Weißbräu, we were thrown in at the deep end.

In May it was said that we were the new festival hosts.” He immediately began researching former employees and suppliers to find out what was in demand at the autumn festival.

"The Dangl people helped us tremendously," praises Uwe Pianka, "and it worked well from the first year".

However, what did not fit at the first autumn festival was the beer temperature at the start.

"We served from Tragl, but stored them too late.

So the beer wasn't cold enough," the 67-year-old looks back.

"Our waiters said: 'This is going to be a disaster', but it went well." He immediately had several refrigerated trucks roll up and got the matter under control.

"You're always learning," he says with a grin.

At first he often had to improvise.

"But we've perfected everything over the years." His wife Angie took care of the office and the numbers, he took care of the rest. "And Mario was there from the very first folk festival and took part in everything," says Uwe Pianka and adds with a laugh: "In the beginning he worked ten percent and rode the carousel 90 percent - he left his wages right there." Son Mario remembers: "I washed jugs, poured them, served them and then - as a supplement to my cooking apprenticeship – worked in the kitchen and roasted chicken.

Every day was an experience,” says the 35-year-old.

In the beginning, Uwe Pianka drove with his wife from one festival to the next.

"We mainly looked at the menus and listened to the bands." His motto: "Better a good copy than a bad invention." In general, finding music bands was his hobby.

He discovered the Blechblosn, for example, “when I was at a party at the airport with our regulars.

There was a violent thunderstorm and a power outage.

Then they just kept playing without an amplifier, and that's when I noticed what good music they were making."

He always tried to "keep the tent running at full power," says Uwe Pianka.

"Later it was like that, you could have put someone in there with the flute, and everyone would have stood on the bench immediately.

We were just always in a good mood.”

Nevertheless, there were hardly any riots.

"In the first few years we had four stewards, most recently 25, but not because things got wilder, but because the requirements kept increasing," says Uwe Pianka.

In addition, the waiters would have known all the guests.

If someone really behaved, they would have warned: "Be respectful, boy, otherwise there'll be more next year at the table!" And then there was peace.

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It only got cramped when people stormed into the tent when it suddenly started to rain.

"Before that, I was always most afraid that the weather would change," admits Uwe Pianka.

“The tent was difficult to control back then, and we had to close it from time to time.

Toi, toi, toi – nothing ever happened.” Later, reservation wristbands and service aisles were introduced.

They were ordered by the authorities, "and that was a good thing".

Schee war's: Uwe and Mario Pianka toast to 30 successful years in the inn.

© Wolfgang Krzizok

The rear exit in the direction of the allotment garden was problematic for a long time.

"People were always out there and peed on the hedge, and Steinberger Fritz, as the head of the allotment garden, was always terribly upset about it," remembers Uwe Pianka and says with a laugh: "That's probably why the hedge grew so well." Later a second toilet facility was built on the west side.

In this context, Uwe and Mario Pianka praise the cooperation with the city of Erding and especially with the Erdinger Weißbräu.

"The Weißbräu has never skimped on the decoration and the interior design.

The music system was always of the highest quality.

That's when you realize how valuable the Weißbräu festival tent is," says Uwe Pianka.

Customers from all over the world are invited, as well as fan clubs and associations.

"Many people underestimate what Weißbräu does for the festival, and all shops, restaurants and hotels in Erding benefit from this," he emphasizes.

“The Autumn Festival has become a brand that is very high.

It's a big family celebration.”

Back then, his wife Angie always kept lists of what was eaten on which days, says Uwe Pianka.

On the first weekend, the expensive dishes are usually in demand, from Monday then more the roast pork and sausages.

"It is astonishing that these numbers have varied only minimally in the following years."

A heavy stroke of fate was when Angie Pianka died in 2013.

"It was a tough time for all of us," says Uwe Pianka.

"It's a good thing that Mario had already worked in the office and that the people there, especially Maresa Wimmer, gave him great support." That's how everything went smoothly in the years that followed.

During the corona pandemic, the Pianka family decided to give up the Weißbräu tent.

"You can't make a marquee on the side.

We have so many other companies that we have to take care of,” states Uwe Pianka.

In addition, the staff is “pointed to the button”, which means: “The shortage of skilled workers does not stop.

That wears you down, and then there are more cases of illness.”

In November, the Piankas informed the Weißbräu that they wanted to quit.

“There is simply no more room for us in this business segment,” Uwe Pianka explains the measure.

Son Mario nods in agreement.

"We have the Weißbräu-Wirtschaft in Erding and Munich-Großhadern, in Erding also the Gasthof zur Post, the Hotel Arooma and a large part of the gastronomy in the thermal baths with three restaurants and four pool bars - that's over 170 permanent employees."

They suggested the Schmidt family as successors to the inn.

"I know Patrick from vocational school and his wife Steffi comes from Taufkirchen," says Mario Pianka.

Patrick Schmidt used to run the Kulinaria in Taufkirchen and now the Zollhaus in Landshut.

He is also a landlord himself, for example at the Landshuter Dult.

"Patrick has worked for us before, at the folk festival and in the thermal baths," reports Uwe Pianka.

Son Mario adds: "We gave the Schmidts all the information.

You are in constant communication with us.

We wish them every success and that they have just as much fun being Erdinger Festwirte as we did.”

And what are the Piankas doing now during the Autumn Festival?

Mario and his wife Daniela hold the fort in the Weißbräu parent company on the long line.

“We have a lot planned for the Fall Festival time.

From early morning shopping with live music to a bar with a DJ, everything is included – and of course we will be attending the autumn festival for the first time as normal guests.” And Uwe Pianka?

"I've been there since 1992.

This time I'm going on vacation."