Speaking of new horizons: The gastro scene walks new ways
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Fewer visitors in the city centres, more vacancies with more and more online trade - the gastronomy is also affected by this. What can be done against this development? There is a few things …
In order to stop the “death of city centres”, new concepts are needed that rethink city centres and include all urban areas. But how does this work? Instead of parking spaces for cars and flowing traffic, for example, seating under trees, pedestrian zones or areas used for gastronomy are created to increase the quality of any visit. The city of Munich already demonstrated this during the pandemic. Originally created in Vienna, the idea of “outdoor gardens” spilled over to Isar: visually appealing pop-up bar front gardens redefine the term “parking space management” and change the look of entire streets.
However, a little more space alone is not enough. Ultimately, it is about a transformation of the inner cities. And yet it is a start. To support restaurateurs in such outdoor projects, the city of Cologne now even offers an extra contact point for restaurateurs. This should serve as a model for other municipalities! The city of Essen has also recognised the problem of inner-city decline. Here, the city's marketing company is working on a concept for the strategic development of gastronomy in the city centre, which is being divided into clusters and target groups for this purpose. We think that this is very exciting!
