Wienerwald (restaurant)
Company type | GmbH |
---|---|
Founded | 1955Munich, Bavaria, Germany | , in
Headquarters | Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany |
Key people | Thies Borch-Madsen |
Services | Fast-food (hendl, schnitzel) restaurants franchising |
Website | Wienerwald |
Wienerwald
As of 2022 there are five Wienerwald restaurants in Germany and three in Egypt. Previously, the company had also operated in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, The Netherlands, Romania, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
History
Founded in 1955 by Linz restaurateur Friedrich Jahn (1923 – 1998) in Munich, Wienerwald rapidly grew to become Europe's largest restaurant chain with more than 1600 restaurants in 1978.
In 1978, Wienerwald purchased the 273-restaurant Lum's chain from the former owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken, John Y. Brown Jr.[1] The chain's inability to market its outlets as providers of chicken (rather than overcoming the US misconception that "Wienerwald" was a wiener chain), plus the huge growth in 1978 brought enormous debts. Many of the restaurants in the US and Europe had to close, and Wienerwald declared bankruptcy in 1982, divesting itself of its 880 restaurants in the United States.[2]
The chain recovered, but failed to return to its former glory; sales and restaurant numbers declined and many foreign markets were abandoned. In 2003, and again in 2007, Wienerwald filed for bankruptcy again, which resulted in further closures of restaurants and further release of employees.[3][4]
In 2007, Friedrich Jahn's daughters Margot Steinberg and Evelyn Peitzner purchased the company and Wienerwald started a new era. In order to become competitive again, the chain modernized and adjusted its concept, shifting from
Wienerwald Restaurants GmbH (Austria)
In Austria, Friedrich Jahn sold all Wienerwald restaurants to a different owner in 1986, thus separating the Austrian restaurants from the rest of the company. Today, detached spin out company Wienerwald Restaurants GmbH operates eight casual dining restaurants with a similar menu.[8]
See also
- List of fast-food chicken restaurants
References
- ^ Tagliabue, John (18 July 1981). "Wienerwald's U.S. Challenge". The New York Times. Section 2, p. 29.
- ^ "Wienerwald Chain Will Be Cut Back". The New York Times. 17 June 1982.
- ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
- ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
- ^ a b Nicht mehr nur das halbe Hendl
- ^ "WIENERWALD | Restaurants in Deutschland". www.wienerwald.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-02-17.
- ^ "WIENERWALD | Restaurants in Deutschland". www.wienerwald.eu (in German). Retrieved 2018-02-17.
- ^ Wienerwald Österreich
External links
- Wienerwald - Official web presence (in German)
- Wienerwald - Egyptian entity's English-language site