Kitsch and cake at Oma’s

The Vollpension Generationencafé located in the Schleifmühlgasse in Vienna’s fourth district is a multi- generation café. Along with delicious home-baked goods, it offers jobs for both young and old. The concept is catching on.

The smell of freshly baked cake fills the air. The leather armchairs creak along with the old radios. The Omas (German for grandmas) are baking in the kitchen while telling stories to the guests about days gone by. This nostalgic scene is part of the business concept. The goal is for the guests to feel right at home – just like at grandma’s house.

More than 10 of these grandma’s are now working in the kitchen of this charmingly quaint inn. Grandmas – are we even allowed to call them that? Will they feel like we are patronizing them? "Our Omas want to be called Oma. This is all part of the concept of our inn, " according to the business manager, Hannah Lux. And what about the Opas (German for grandpas)? "We are involved in discussions with several of them. The entire concept requires a lot of planning and even more communication. This only works as a team," she explains. The core team includes Lux, Cornelia Kamleitner and Chef Paulo Grando (see photo).

One of the goals of the business is to offer seniors an outlet with new perspectives and meaningful employment and to facilitate communication between generations. The other goal is, of course, to be a successful enterprise. The founders consider this a social company, not a social project.

Services/grants provided by the Vienna Business Agency:

• Funding by the program local supply focus

Company contact:

Schleifmühlgasse 16
1040 Vienna
vollpense.at

(c) Marko Mestrovic