Restaurant in Altendorf: Ohm Hein offers “goose to go” against the November blues

Meckenheim-Altendorf –

The second lockdown is a heavy mortgage for many restaurateurs. In particular, the last two months of the year are among the best in terms of turnover in the industry. When it gets darker outside, people like to get together and spend the evening in company. Around St. Martin’s Day, many an evening is crowned with a hearty goose meal. All of this falls victim to the pandemic this year. That is why many restaurants are breaking new ground.

Advertising slips created and also delivered

Surrendering to the crisis and burying your head in the sand is not the solution. Ordering and picking up food or even organizing a delivery service has therefore now proven to be a tried and tested means for many restaurateurs to face the crisis. You can build on this in autumn, so nobody has to do without the traditional goose feast.

The offer under the slogan “Gans to go”, that is to say, to collect geese from the inn or have them delivered to the front door, not only sounds original, but is also a remedy for the November blues for many companies.

Volker Deuster and head chef Constantin von Hochberg have been running the Ohm Hein restaurant in Altendorf for three years. When it was decided to close all catering establishments again on October 28, it was no surprise for them.

Prepared for restrictions at the end of October

Therefore, days in advance when shopping, they had made sure to stock up on enough packaging material. “When the new lockdown was finally clear, we sat down and coordinated our approach,” says Deuster. The decision to offer geese in addition to schnitzels, salads and daily specials, to have them picked up and delivered was made quickly. After all, geese play the main culinary role in the kitchen in November and December.

An advertising slip was designed and copied 5000 times. “We then distributed the flyers in the area,” explains Volker Deuster. The entire workforce took part and walked many a kilometer to reach the households in Altendorf, Ersdorf, Gelsdorf, Hilberath, Wormersdorf and in the center of Meckenheim. In addition to the geese offer, the leaflet also contains the rest of the menu including changing daily specials with the information that you can subscribe to the current menu by email.

During the first week it became clear how much the effort was worth it. The e-mail distribution list has grown significantly, and the geese offer has also generated a great response. “It’s going really well,” says Deuster.

“An unbelievable number of guests ordered goose, especially for St. Martin’s Day.” The experienced restaurateur did not rate the service primarily as a compensation for the failed November business, but rather as a duty to the guests, to whom the Ohm Hein team would like to give something back .

How to package schnitzel, potato pancakes or pasta dishes in such a way that they end up on your plate at home without any loss of quality was proven in the spring. The goose is a particular challenge, however. For example, goose legs and breasts are wrapped in aluminum foil before they are firmly wrapped in styrofoam.

“The fact that there is a lot of waste bothers us,” admits Constantin von Hochberg, “but at the moment it doesn’t work any differently”. For the future, however, they are looking for more environmentally friendly alternatives.

In addition to careful packaging, speed plays an important role. “That’s why the geese don’t come out of the oven until the customer has already entered the restaurant,” says Deuster. Speed ​​is also the top priority when it comes to deliveries.

In addition, customers are advised when they place their order to preheat the oven at home to 70 to 100 degrees Celsius as soon as it drives off to pick up the goose. At home he can put them in the oven for a few minutes and bring them up to temperature.

Geese that have to travel a little further can be reheated in the oven at home at a higher temperature. “However, you must never use the microwave. That makes them tough, ”warns von Hochberg’s chef.

Although the offer has been very well received, a service like “goose to go” is not an equivalent substitute for normal operations in the run-up to Christmas. But it contributes to the fact that none of the employees have yet to be laid off. “We all work about half as much as usual,” says Deuster. Short-time work has been requested for all employees, but the team remains complete.

Neighborhood help with apple bottleneck

Cohesion and solidarity are values ​​in times of crisis that are now even more important than usual. This is also shown by the fact that Ohm Hein purchases as many goods as possible from the immediate vicinity. For example, baked apples as well as chestnuts, red cabbage and dumplings are included with the goose. When the apples threatened to run out last Sunday, you could knock at the neighboring Heinrichs organic farm and the apple bottleneck was resolved.

Solidarity proves itself between guests and restaurant operators. Many of the regulars order at least once a week. For some, this offer is important because they simply do not have the time or the inclination to cook for themselves. But for others it is also a gesture. After all, everyone hopes to be able to relax again after the end of the Corona crisis.

Many seem to be aware of the fact that customers are taking advantage of the gastronomy offers and making a contribution. “We won’t let each other down,” says Nicolas von Hochberg, summarizing the current mood.

The example of the Ohm Heim restaurant illustrates how a traditional business can overcome a dry spell. Hopefully, restaurants that haven’t been around that long will also find ways and means to weather the crisis.

In addition to the Ohm Hein, there are numerous other restaurants in the Rhein-Sieg district and in Bonn that offer a similar service around the goose. These include, among other things Anna Seibert in Rheinbach, the Redüttchen in Bad Godesberg, the View of the foothills in Merten, the Lambertushof in Witterschlick, the Wine mill in Oberdollendorf, the Parkrestaurant RheinAue or that Belderbusch’s grave in Miel.

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