Gastro concept with vision: Tackling challenges together

Examples from Munich and Wuppertal show what this can look like in practice. In the Maxvorstadt district, two restaurants use the same space: Café Buur in the morning and Hamburgerei in the evening. While pancakes, bowls and colorful breakfast plates dominate the scene in the morning, the aroma of grilled meat, melted cheese and crispy fries wafts through the room in the evening. Two completely different culinary experiences united under one roof, but separated in time.

Gastro-sharing also takes place in Wuppertal, but not one after the other, but at the same time. The Sakura Sushi team sells its dishes on the premises of Lachs-Räucherei Wortberg (salmon smokehouse). While one team prepares sashimi and maki, the other smokes fresh salmon. The processes run in parallel, in the same room, with different products and processes, without getting in each other's way.

What becomes clear in both cases: This is neither a sublet nor an interim solution, but a deliberately chosen gastro concept.

What is gastro-sharing?

Gastro-sharing is basically the gastronomic equivalent of the co-working idea: restaurateurs share the kitchen, dining room, staff and technology. They use the infrastructure at different times or in parallel. Sometimes, as in Munich, it is a café that is only open during the day and offers space for a restaurant in the evening. Sometimes it is two restaurateurs working in parallel, as in Wuppertal, sharing a kitchen but selling their food separately. Whether to share costs, minimize risk or for reasons of sustainability, gastro-sharing makes it possible to operate restaurants with significantly lower investments.

What challenges does gastro-sharing present?

On a day-to-day basis, gastro-sharing brings with it a lot of complexity, especially when two businesses are running in parallel. Staff need to know two menus, be familiar with different processes and be able to switch between brands. This requires good training and a high level of resilience. Clear agreements and structure are also required in terms of logistics: cold storage rooms, storage areas and ingredients must be clearly separated or organized together. Do both businesses order together or separately? Who manages what? The cash register system must also be clearly organized: Receipts, sales and billing must be separated - this works particularly well digitally, for example with DISH solutions.

What do restaurateurs need to consider legally with gastro-sharing?

Anyone opting for gastro-sharing not only shares the rent and ancillary costs, but also has to clarify liability issues and responsibilities in day-to-day business: Who is responsible for cleaning, maintenance, incoming goods? It is particularly important to look at commercial law: both businesses usually require their own licenses and must correctly identify the shared business in terms of hygiene law, including the clear allocation of storage space, refrigeration technology and staff. A clear separation is also necessary with regard to the tax office: Each business needs its own bookkeeping and comprehensible accounting processes. And when using digital solutions, data protection and access rights must be regulated.

Even if restaurateurs share premises, cooperation ends with legal and accounting aspects: Each food service business is only responsible for itself and the turnover generated also lands entirely with it.

Bernd Luxenburger, expert in setting up a business in the hospitality industry, explains in 5 facts how crucial location and opening hours are for the success of a restaurant and that vegetarian enjoyment is not a question of age: