Ratskeller Dresden is finally closing after over a century!

Ratskeller Dresden is finally closing after over a century!

Another prominent gastronomic place in Dresden is closing its doors: The Ratskeller in the New Town Hall will finally close its doors on June 27, 2025 after more than a century of operation. This decision was made by the operating company Widynski & Roick, which informed the city of Dresden about the closure at the end of last year. The Ratskeller is now empty until further notice and the city is already examining possible successor solutions to revive the traditional site dresden.de reported.

The Ratskeller on Külz-Ring has been managed as a “Ratsweinkeller” since 1910, but has experienced many ups and downs over the years. In particular, the conversion into an HO restaurant in 1966 with space for 380 guests marked a new era. But after reunification, business deteriorated. Some setbacks, such as high rent arrears in 2002 and damage from the once-in-a-century flood, led to numerous difficulties. A comprehensive renovation took place by 2004 thanks to flood relief money, and a reopening followed in 2019, supported by Mayor Dirk Hilbert. However, the new operator Gourmetta was only able to operate successfully for one year before the helm was handed over to Widynski & Roick.

A failed concept

In the summer of 2023, Widynski & Roick took over the restaurant after a Red Cross blood donation center was set up in the same building. However, the newly developed concept as a company restaurant did not enjoy the desired popularity and ultimately failed. A possible reason for this could be the strong competition from the newly built city forum, which with its commercial kitchen further exacerbated the already tense conditions in the catering sector. While the Ratskeller could only offer warmed dishes, guests in the Stadtforum were presented with more freshness and variety. Sächsische.de has provided further insights into this.

The challenges of gastronomy

The closure of the Ratskeller is not an isolated case in Dresden's gastronomy scene. Other companies are also struggling with enormous difficulties. For example, the restaurants “Villa Marie” and “La Villetta” filed for bankruptcy after struggling with financial bottlenecks during the corona pandemic. The reasons for the economic problems are diverse: the global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation and the abolition of the reduced VAT rate from January 2024 are causing uncertainty. Discussions with contractual partners are planned in order to reduce the burden and possibly avert an imbalance reports Day24.

As an alternative for guests and city administration employees, the restaurant on the ground floor and the coffee bar in the Agora at Waisenhausstrasse 14 are now available until a new solution is found for the Ratskeller. The future remains uncertain, and the catering scene in Dresden must find new ways to make ends meet despite the challenges of the last few years.