Shock for Dresden: Ratskeller closes after over 100 years!

Shock for Dresden: Ratskeller closes after over 100 years!

The gastronomic landscape of Dresden has suffered a bitter setback. The traditional restaurant in the Ratskeller of the new town hall will close its gates. The last day of issue for the guests is Friday, June 27, 2025. After that, the Ratskeller remains closed until further notice, which the city of Dresden presents with challenges, as Dresden.de reports.

The operating company Widynski & Roick announced the closure at the end of last year. The city administration is now examining possible successors to cushion the loss of this gastronomic facility. For the city administration and guests, the restaurant on the ground floor and the coffee bar in the Agora in Waisenhausstraße are available as alternatives.

history and challenges

The Ratskeller, originally opened as a "Ratsweinkeller" in 1910, looks back on an eventful story. In 1966, a HO restaurant with 380 seats was installed. The decline began after the fall of the wall when the tenant at the time accumulated numerous rent residues and in 2002 a flood of the century caused damage of around 880,000 euros. After renovation work, financed by flood aid money, a reopening took place in 2019, supported by Mayor Dirk Hilbert.

Unfortunately, the joy was short -lived, because the then operator gourmetta gave up after only one year. In the summer of 2023, the current operator took over the restaurant after a blood donation center was set up in the restaurant. However, a new concept as an open company restaurant was unable to convince, which may also have been due to the strong competition through the city forum newly built nearby, which has a modern large kitchen. In the Ratskeller, on the other hand, there were only predominantly warmed courts to offer, which was not beneficial to the attractiveness, such as Saechsische.de reported.

crises in gastronomy

The closure of the council cellar is not the only alarm sign for the catering in Dresden. Two other restaurants, "Villa Marie" and "La Villetta", have filed for bankruptcy because they have difficulty repaying a loan recorded during the Corona period. The economic situation is tense, the reasons range from pandemic and the elimination of parking spaces to the effects of the Ukraine war and the increasing inflation. The operators present these circumstances with enormous challenges, especially because they find it difficult to pass on the increasing costs to the guests, such as tag24.de reported.

These developments throw a shadow on the cultural and gastronomic diversity of the city, which has to try out new concepts again and again in order to meet the tastes and needs of its citizens. It remains to be seen whether and how the Ratskeller receives a new perspective.