As of: February 9, 2024, 11:00 a.m
By: Tanja Brinkmann
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Everyone pitches in: Linus Kässer (2nd from right) and his team pull together.
The whole team helps with tidying up and cleaning.
© Thomas Sehr
Three months after the fire, life is returning to the chocolaterie on Ludwigstrasse.
Linus Kässer and his team put away the machines and everything else they need for production.
The shops in the centers of Partenkirchen and Garmisch are scheduled to open before Easter.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
– Chaos still reigns.
To Linus Kässer's relief, it's a positive one.
A good three months after the roof fire in his house on historic Ludwigstrasse, land is finally in sight.
Four trucks arrived from Stuttgart this week and unloaded his machines, the complete equipment of the Chocolaterie Amelie with metal sheets, knives and all other equipment as well as decorative items.
In addition to the large devices wrapped in foil, which, like everything else, were professionally cleaned by a specialist company, there are around 150 moving boxes in his shop.
Because everything had to happen quickly after the fire, none of them are labeled.
Kässer therefore expects “that we will need at least two weeks until everything is cleaned again and put away in a way that suits our production.”
He wants to get started again at the end of February or the beginning of March at the latest and then resume operations in the Partenkirchen district as quickly as possible.
Local craftsmen gave it their all
The craftsmen who renovated the store are almost finished.
Kässer can only give everyone who was involved the highest praise.
“They really stepped up their game, without them it wouldn't have gone anywhere near as well.” The local businesses in particular and his local insurance agent did everything they could to reopen the chocolate shop after the three-month dry spell.
To the owner's delight, he managed to retain all 28 employees, who are now working hard with him.
When everything is unpacked and cleaned, the chocolatiers first have to “restore our nut pastes and nougat,” explains Kässer, explaining the procedure.
“Everything is homemade here.” Only then can production start again.
He initially focuses on broken chocolate, pralines and of course sweets for Easter.
“Unfortunately we can’t manage the full range,” he regrets.
He is confident that customers will certainly understand this.
Kässer's stated goal is to reopen the branch in the center of Garmisch before the holidays.
After the catastrophic fire, it was in operation until the beginning of December, but then had to close due to a lack of goods.
He quickly rejected the idea of producing at another location in the meantime due to the enormous costs.
The rest of the house is currently uninhabitable.
“Everything has been gutted, only the quarry stone walls are left standing.” Kässer hopes that the new roof can be built this year.
However, “it will certainly take over a year” until the renovation of the apartments is completed in close coordination with the monument protection authority.