Future of the cult venue Tunnel in Vienna: Who will save the jazz tradition?

Future of the cult venue Tunnel in Vienna: Who will save the jazz tradition?

In the heart of Vienna, there are signs of change at the cult venue “Tunnel Vienna Live”. After eleven years of jazz and gastronomy, Hans Litsauer, who took over the restaurant in 2014, has announced that the esteemed operator would like to retire. “Tunnel Vienna Live”, which opened in 1982, was a popular meeting place in the Vienna music scene in the 1980s and 90s and presented numerous well-known artists such as Maria Bill, Otto Lechner and Erika Pluhar. A highlight remains the performance of Willi Resetarits, who played in the tunnel just three months before his death, said Litsauer. But now the restaurant will continue to operate without jazz concerts, which marks the end of an era.

Litsauer, who previously worked as a management consultant and editor and had no restaurant experience, was looking for a new challenge and found the restaurant, which was threatened with closure at the time. With a lot of commitment and a feeling for the needs of the guests, from students to families, he revitalized the “Tunnel”. Now the 59-year-old is planning to call it quits at the age of 70. He has already searched for interested parties on Facebook and received initial inquiries. However, there are currently no firm succession plans in place, which makes Litsauer even more concerned. He hopes that the tradition of the restaurant will continue and that it will not fall into other hands with other plans.

The future of the “tunnel”

Finding a successor is proving to be a challenge. Litsauer, whose daughter is concentrating on her academic career, wants to ensure that the venue remains a music venue and dining establishment. There are already a few offers available so far, but these mostly only relate to the operating areas and not to the cultural orientation. A deadline of the end of the year was set to find a suitable successor, otherwise he would have to start negotiations with the previous interested parties, who do not take the traditional history of the “Tunnel” into account.

Gastronomic developments in Vienna show that the trend is diversity and regionality, as current reports show. Loud gast.at The culinary future will be strongly influenced by the demand for plant-based products. At the same time, many gourmets do not want to miss out on high-quality meat. “Regional beats organic” is increasingly becoming a mantra in Austrian gastronomy. Such trends could give the gastronomy in the “tunnel” a breath of fresh air if a new operator is found who integrates these aspects into the concepts.

Litsauer remains optimistic: “I hope that we can find a solution that does justice to both the restaurant and its loyal guests.” Clarity is expected on a decision on the future of the “Tunnel” by the end of the year. However, when it comes to the question of what could happen next after the farewell, there is still a lot of room for speculation. Perhaps a visionary successor could be found who would continue the love of music and good food and thus continue the tradition of a Viennese cultural asset.