As of: March 25, 2024, 11:10 a.m
By: Lisa Fischer
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Spare ribs are often ordered in the Fürstenfeld beer garden.
But this year they would cost over 20 euros.
Too much, says the innkeeper.
© imago (example photo)
Inflation, rising costs, everything is becoming more expensive: the situation in many industries remains tense.
But what does that mean in individual cases if prices continue to rise?
An example from the Fürstenfeld beer garden shows this.
Fürstenfeldbruck – In the restaurant near the event forum, host Gerhard Kohlfürst has taken his spare ribs off the menu this year – even though they were very popular and a magnet for customers.
Many reasons motivated Kohlfürst to make this decision.
The restaurateur writes in his own online blog about a “management report with spare ribs”.
“Management report with spare ribs”: Restaurant removes popular dish from the menu
“It’s important to me to show what’s behind it,” says Gerhard Kohlfürst to the Fürstenfeldbrucker Tagblatt.
“Because it is often said that restaurateurs fill their pockets.” That’s why he decided to break down the calculations in the catering industry using the example of spare ribs.
With the increase in VAT from seven to 19 percent at the beginning of the year, prices in Fürstenfelder were also increased “by approximately this value,” says Kohlfürst.
He often reads and hears criticism that the catering industry should have lowered its prices three years ago when VAT was reduced.
Then we would now be back at the same price level as before Corona.
Kohlfürst says: “The VAT reduction was intended at the time to give restaurateurs some breathing room.” But the level is far from being at the level from 2019. “There are now even more factors coming into play, not just the corona pandemic, but the Ukraine pandemic. War, increased energy prices and inflation.”
Price doesn't match the ambience
Back to the ribs bill: One of the reasons why spareribs will no longer be available is the beer garden.
“The beer garden is a sensitive area,” says Kohlfürst.
They want to appeal to everyone there, families come together here.
“And we are already more expensive than a beer garden in the hinterland,” says the innkeeper.
Increasing the price of spare ribs would no longer be in keeping with the beer garden character.
The hearty specialty would have cost around 20 euros.
“Bavarian coziness should be affordable,” writes Kohlfürst on his blog.
The increased price of electricity
A second reason why the spare ribs will no longer be available in the Fürstenfeld beer garden is the increased electricity price.
“We have already got an electricity price brake,” says Kohlfürst.
But the reference year was from the Corona period.
“Compared to the previous year, our energy costs will have more than doubled in 2023,” explains Kohlfürst.
For his catering business, this means immense additional energy costs.
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Purchasing the organic meat spareribs - Fürstenfelder obtains some of the meat from the country woman in Emmering and Upper Austria - is also difficult.
Because prices have also risen among suppliers and the like, emphasizes landlord Kohlfürst.
More costs in the transport chain
Many costs that arise in production are simply passed on.
Higher fuel and toll costs come into play with meat from Austria.
“But we are at the end of the chain, directly at the consumer.” For example, the beverage supplier writes an email saying that he will increase prices.
“We have to accept this and, if we then also increase our prices, deal with the direct reaction from customers.”
The alternative to spare ribs
Gerhard Kohlfürst already has an alternative up his sleeve for the Fürstenfelder ribs: “We’re putting a regional organic product on the menu: crispy pork belly.” Why?
“Because pork belly is affordable,” says the restaurateur.
The difference: Almost 50 percent of the spare ribs are bones.
This means that for the same price per kilo, the restaurant gets more meat from pork belly, which in turn feeds more beer garden visitors.
The landlord is looking forward to the latter and hopes that they will come and come back in the summer.
Beer garden classic remains with a surcharge
Despite higher prices, there will still be another beer garden classic in Fürstenfelder.
The pretzels, perhaps the most Bavarian of all baked goods, would really have been indispensable.
You'll just have to dig deeper into your pockets this year.
A small pretzel costs 20 cents more at the Fürstenfelder Biergarten, a large one costs 50 cents.
You can find even more current news from the Fürstenfeldbruck district at Merkur.de/Fürstenfeldbruck.