The tavern has always been more than just a place to eat and drink. It is a social institution, an important type of catering, a meeting place for everyone, from PR managers to apprentice mechanics, a place with landlady and/or innkeeper who are much more than service providers. In short: The tavern is and was a social place. And as deeply as the human need for society is anchored in our systems, the tavern, in general terms, still loses guests. The tavern death is supposedly in full swing. And it is not only the question of why, but also of what can be done.
In addition to the lack of willing and trained workers and a gastronomically hyper-active club culture, inflation and rural exodus are mentioned as reasons for the disappearance of taverns, of course, among many others. You can and should ask about these reasons, because as a mirror of society, as the tavern is just as often referred to, this gastronomic genre with strong character is not an isolated element, but a thoroughly context-dependent element. In other words, what happens in the world also affects the tavern. “The big is reflected in the small, that is dialectic,” the hip hop band Freundes-kreis wrote in 1999.
And of course not all specimens of this genus are doing poorly. Quite the contrary, many are flourishing vividly and consistently. Taking a look at it could inspire. But not here and now. Here and now, it's about thanksgiving experiments based on the question: What can the tavern be? What contemporary needs could it satisfy, apart from eating and drinking? And what is it in its essence?
(1) “No alarms and no surprises”
THE TAVERN AS A PREDICTABLE LOCATION
Even the most adventurous people have a certain need for security. In uncertain times like these, many people crave peace, routine, structure more than ever. Places that do not constantly change but provide a sense of duration, continuity and stability. Or with Radiohead's lyrics: “Noalarms and no surprises, please.” The tavern as a relaxed place in the best sense of the word is predestined for this, solely due to the familiar inner-house elements such as budel, wood paneling, regulars' table and a manageable menu, which may of course include the unexpected, but also offers the classics. With an emphasis on manageable, because too much choice leads to “cognitive overload.” And sometimes also a moving feeling of having made the wrong decision. Because choosing something also means choosing against everything else. The famous fear of missing out (aka FOMO) is not far off. Fortunately, there is also the “Joyof missing out” (aka JOMO) as a countermovement. Perhaps you could cultivate them a bit in the tavern?
(2) Here I am a person, I can be here
THE TAVERN AS A PLACE WITHOUT THE OBLIGATION TO STAGE
“No one here asks you who you are,” wrote the FAZ on the occasion of an exhibition on tavern culture. Maybe no one in the tavern will ask you what you're doing. Perhaps the tavern can also be a place where you don't have to portray yourself better than you are. You don't have to be the best version of yourself, it's enough just to be good enough. Perhaps we need a culture of lived mediocrity at all, which curbs the superlative delusion that is particularly rampant in the Western world. Aristotle has already praised mediocrity as a virtue: neither too much nor too little. Maybe you have to relax the demands on yourself a bit, or in the words of the band Wanda: “Nothing we do will ever become a legend. We'll be shoofrowed if we die at the end.”
(3) Quick on a drink
THE TAVERN AS A LOW-THRESHOLD PLACE
Another characteristic with which the tavern could continue to score points is its infallibility. You can show up spontaneously and then stay longer than planned. In most cases, you don't have to make a reservation. And you can also go alone and order a drink from the budel without judging side views. In a time-timed calendar, such a place can provide spontaneous experiences. Completely without planning and preparation, without having to talk, but being able to remain silent.
(4) There must also be excess
THE TAVERN AS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN LET YOURSELF GO A BIT
Life is exhausting enough; fun often falls by the wayside. The “philosopher of pleasure” Robert Pfaller speaks out against being “panicky” and instead being unreasonable “with reason,” in other words: letting yourself go from time to time. If you always work, do your best and lose yourself trying to do everything right, then you're not benefiting anyone. Humans have instincts and a subconscious mind. People need valves and friction, they sometimes have to get out of hand and agitate in order to be able to feel what it's like to be in balance again. A type of controlled excess that is not excessive in frequency can provide relief. This does not mean that the tavern should become a place for ritualized intoxication. But it can be a place where you open the top pants button without feeling ashamed. Where you speak your mind, even if it polarizes. Where you fight and make up again.
(5) Here today, there tomorrow
THE MOBILE TAVERN
Another question that you can ask in the room is whether a tavern always has to be bound to a location at all times. Rising rents and energy prices as well as a shortage of skilled workers are forcing many restaurateurs to their knees. An alternative model would be to rent out at different locations where you can assume (for example through advance bookings) that there will be enough guests. Vacancies could also be used for this purpose. Or you can go directly to companies or institutions that want a convenient lunch. One example of such a concept is “Tisch Zwölf — Essen für die Zukunft” from Vorarlberg, which is here and there with their (rest regional, seasonal and organic) lunch table.
(6) Schnitzel today, stage tomorrow
THE TAVERN AS A VERSATILE PLACE
This idea only supposedly contradicts the thesis of the tavern as a predictable location. Because the tavern can still remain a familiar place, even if the rooms are misused here and there in the sense of the best possible “sharing economy”: for events, exhibitions, workshops or the like. This different use is also practiced as part of the tavern laboratory during the KulturHauptstadt 2024, when taverns temporarily become theatre stages, among other things. And when students from local tourism schools will think about everything the tavern can be.
(7) “Can I write to you? ”
THE TAVERN AS AN AFFORDABLE LOCATION
One of the reasons for the loss of guests is certainly the increased cost of living. Where can you save money? When eating out. But in the tavern, if you come often and are not unknown to the landlady, you should also be able to “write” with dignity and, of course, in moderation. There should be affordable positions on the map; the most famous example is probably the “youth drink.” In Paris, the “bouillons” are currently experiencing a renaissance, those low-cost restaurants that provided workers with rich lunch soup in the 19th century: “Paris is finding a recipe against inflation in cheap restaurants,” the standard headlined. With all this, one should of course not ignore the fact that restaurateurs themselves are affected by price increases, that food, rent and staff have become more expensive. And that all of this must also be addressed.
(8) In good times and in bad
THE TAVERN AS A PLACE OF RITUALS
Birth, love and death: The tavern has always had to deal with the most important stages of inhuman life. At least in the village, and there often in the ecclesiastical context of baptism, wedding and burial, because rituals are important and yet lose meaning: “Rituals make time accessible like a house,” writes philosopher Byung-Chul Han in his book “On the Disappearance of Ritua-le” published in 2021. But the tavern can also be absorbed in the context of banal banding and tearing up or “drinking” following a separation. “Der Floh”, a host in Langenlebarn in Lower Austria, even has a “divorce dinner” on the menu. Perhaps a potential ritual in the process of “conscious uncouplings,” i.e. known separations with as little drama as possible?
(9) Neither fish nor meat
THE TAVERN AS A LABORATORY FOR FUTURE FOOD
A sensitive issue, no question about it. A menu without classics such as baked chicken and goulash doesn't really work. But it is also no longer possible to only offer side dishes to the ever-increasing mass of vegans. Many taverns are already brilliantly showing how classics can be converted into meatless or even vegan variants from regional products.
(10) Body Positivity, Gender, and Inclusion
THE TAVERN AS A “SAFE SPACE”
With its Guide of Conduct, the hyped Berlin eatery Nobelhart &Schmutzig has developed a guide against abuse of power, sexual harassment and discrimination. “In essence, the Guide of Conduct is therefore a reference work for the way we work together and for the change we want to make in our society and food and consumer culture,” it says. Among other things, it is about designing working conditions in such a way that working in the catering industry is revalued — which is more than necessary in view of the shortage of skilled workers. And not just because of that, but in general.
(11) Against loneliness, against isolation
THE TAVERN AS A PLACE FOR MEETINGS
A life of satisfaction is simply not possible without successful relationships. Yet there is talk of the “pandemic of loneliness,” of tendencies towards isolation. There are more single households than ever before, and at the same time living space is becoming more expensive and scarce. For this reason alone, third places such as the Wirtshaus Wiedamals, when people wanted to escape the confinement of the apartments (or the people present there) and workplaces, become important places of socialization. Like the “pubs” (“public houses”) in England, the “diners” in the USA or the ramen bars in Japan, where you can simply go without making out anything.
(12) Out of the Bubble
THE TAVERN AS A MELTING POT
Everyone comes together in the tavern: students and retirees, employees and workers, bosses and self-employed people, tourists and locals. In times of “bubbles” and “cancel culture,” a place that is enlivened by very different people can be extremely beneficial. In this sense, following the oft-quoted saying “Life begins outside of your comfort zone,” it could perhaps mean: “Life starts outside your bubble. ”
(Greetings from the kitchen) It's called tavern, not tavern
THE TAVERN AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE CHARACTER OF THE LANDLADY
The other side of the coin has so far been ignored here because this text asks what the tavern could be. But what the people who run it want is at least as important. It is often said that the innkeeper looks for his guests. All you have to do is read Albert Ostermaier's guest grumbling to better understand the not always friction-free relationship between host and guest. But that's another story...
