Neighbor feels bothered by the smell of doner kebabs: disputes almost cost owners their existence

Created: 12/29/2022, 5:30 am

By: Max Wochinger

Christine Drexl and Hüseyin Arat have now turned the former doner kebab shop "Egeli 35" into a delicatessen.

© max wochinger

The former doner kebab shop "Egeli 35" is back in Ottobrunn - now as a delicatessen.

Christine Drexl and her tenant Hüseyin Arat went wrong in a year-long legal dispute with a neighbor who was bothered by the smell of doner kebabs.

The dispute almost cost the two operators their existence.

Ottobrunn

– It was a kebab with an aftertaste: The snack bar “Egeli 35” in Ottobrunn was closed for two and a half years.

Christine Drexl and her tenant Hüseyin Arat had to pay 25,000 euros in legal and court costs, they almost broke up in the shop.

"We suffered a lot physically and mentally," says Drexl.

The business partners fought back and took action together against the closure of the store.

Now the snack bar is back – as a delicatessen.

There are pide and Anatolian puff pastry pockets

The doner kebab has stopped spinning, but the world of Turkish cuisine continues to revolve around landlady Drexl and restaurateur Arat.

The onions are cut and the flatbread is ready, just like before.

There are pide and Anatolian puff pastry pockets.

Only the chairs and tables have now given way to crates of fruit and vegetables.

And the central element of every kebab stand has disappeared: the kebab skewer.

He was the catalyst for a year-long legal battle with a neighboring couple.

The kebab smell bothered her, even though her apartment is 30 meters from the former snack bar.

They had also felt bothered by the noise of the guests.

The neighbors went to the Munich district court - in 2019 there was a hearing with Christine Drexl (we reported).

The verdict followed later: The court prohibited the landlady from using her property as a kebab shop.

The district court ruled that the use contradicted the specified purpose as a shop.

The plaintiffs were right, and Drexl appealed – but without success.

The kebab skewer and the seating had to leave the store, in June 2020 Drexl and Arat closed the snack bar.

"Value of humanity" has been lost

“Anger, sadness;

we fought with all our emotions,” says Drexl.

The worst thing for the landlady: by being sued, her “value of humanity” was lost – in addition to a “heap of money”.

"I put my family's entire existence into the shop," says Arat, who was born in Turkey.

He had donated his life savings and countless hours of work to the diner.

After the court verdict, he was faced with the closed shop - and a mountain of debt.

"But we didn't want to let that get us down," says Drexl.

After the closure, the two started working in other companies, but the goal was clear: the reopening of "Egeli 35".

They converted the snack bar into a delicatessen, now they're starting over from scratch.

Hoping for the customers from before

Whether selling doner kebabs, arguing in court or setting up a new shop: Drexl and Arat go the way together.

"We're like brother and sister," she says.

Arat nods to her.

"We're just looking ahead now," he says.

Your delicatessen is set up - now only the customers from before are missing.