Gleis//Garten - Vienna’s 1st Foodhall
Imagine an old train service and operational station (“remise”) turned into a culinary hub and cultural stage - and you have pictured our latest large-scale development project: Gleis//Garten, Vienna’s first food hall. On 1.500 sqm you will find a variety of national and international food concepts, a gin distillery and a local brewery. Cheered by the Viennese public and political sphere alike, one question remains: Who’s crazy enough to dare such a thing?
-
Concept creation, business development, space planning, community building, construction management
-
https://www.gleisgarten.com/
https://www.stadt-wien.at/lifestyle/essen-trinken/food-hall-gleisgarten.html
https://www.diepresse.com/16218991/gleisgarten-wien-hat-nun-endlich-eine-markthalle
Three years ago, a London-based brewery operator asked us to support them in getting a foot into the Viennese market. They wanted to establish their successful brewery concept in Austria. The idea was to find a location where they could embed their brewery in an F&B environment. We knew that Vienna was longing for a food hall. The Naschmarkt being a super successful tourist magnet and culinary hotspot has one disadvantage: it’s lacking a roof, and the Viennese don’t like to sit outside in chilly winter.
So, one challenge was to find the right location. Getting in touch with renowned Soravia real-estate developers was a turning point in the project. Soravia was creating office space around the area of Gleis//Garten and was looking for an operator for the old remise. While everyone was fascinated by the old building, we also knew that it would be a lot of work to renovate it and adapt it to meet the regulatory requirements for public spaces (after all, Vienna plays in a different league than London when it comes to health and work safety).
The next challenge was to create the right mix of F&B operators. The vision was to provide space to local small enterprises to test and try new concepts and to actively support them in building a successful business. Also, we wanted to introduce to Austria distinctive international brands. Bringing a variety of concepts together under one roof needs answers to many questions, such as:
How to design the back-of-house processes to help the operators do what they do best: deliver food to their customers?
How to create proper waste management that is undisturbing to the thousands of neighbours?
How to shape a user experience that is guided by curiosity and diversity but at the same time gives orientation and a sense of togetherness?
What is the right payment system?
…
Also, the food hall should offer an engaging cultural and artistic programme. This was at first glance at odds with the widespread philosophy in real-estate: every square meter should pay off. But for us it was clear that the user experience would benefit from spaciousness, relaxed seating areas and stages that could be used for different purposes.
Creating a business plan that would take care of all these aspects was hence an integral part of our work.
On October 6, 2023, after 3 years of crazy work, Gleis//Garten opened its doors. We are super proud to have been part of the team that gifted Vienna with this exciting concept. We are looking forward to engaging events and culinary delights and encourage you to visit the place, with family, friends or your team.