The traditional Café Engländer in the center of Vienna is facing a turbulent restart. After it was announced at the end of September that restaurateurs Mario Plachutta and Peter Friese wanted to take over the insolvent establishment, the surprising closure now follows. As of October 8, 2026, the well-known café on Postgasse will cease operations. Extensive renovation work is cited as the reason.

At the same time, reports of an alleged conflict between Mario Plachutta and the staff are causing a stir. The Vienna Chamber of Labor (AK) has now also become involved and is making serious accusations against the restaurateur. Employees are said to have reported intimidation and alleged threats during consultation talks.

Plachutta’s lawyer had already dismissed the previously published allegations.

The news of the closure was also announced via the traditional establishment’s Instagram presence.

„It was a great pleasure and honor to pamper you with us,“ reads the café’s statement.

With October 8, the establishment will close its doors. As a farewell, the team thanks its guests for their long-standing loyalty and bids farewell with a „quiet goodbye and baba.“

The announcement comes as a surprise. As recently as Wednesday, October 7, the café was open as usual. Guests continued to be served by the familiar staff.

According to a report by „MeinBezirk,“ employees were only informed on Wednesday that the establishment would close the following day. Larger renovation works and a multi-week operational pause were cited as the reason.

Even before the closure, Café Engländer had made headlines.

As reported by the „Kurier,“ there was said to have been an intense confrontation by restaurateur Mario Plachutta towards employees at the beginning of the week.

According to the published accounts, Plachutta is said to have appeared loudly. There was also talk of alleged threats of dismissal.

In this context, it was reported that the staff wanted to collectively say goodbye to the company. Around 20 employees are said to be affected.

Whether all employees will actually leave the company has not yet been confirmed.

Today, the Vienna Chamber of Labor issued its own statement.

Ludwig Dvořák, head of labor law advice and legal protection, criticized the handling of the staff.

„It’s a shame that the new owner apparently alienates the staff who have kept the business running together with the Insolvency Remuneration Fund in recent months,“ Dvořák explained.

The employees contributed to keeping the business going during the insolvency proceedings despite the café’s difficult economic situation.

For this reason, the handling of them is particularly problematic from the Chamber of Labor’s perspective.

The accounts given by employees during their consultations with the Chamber of Labor are particularly serious.

According to these accounts, Mario Plachutta is said to have shouted at employees and threatened them with professional consequences.

The Chamber of Labor reproduces a specific statement attributed to Plachutta: „I have money and contacts“.

According to the employees‘ reports, the restaurateur allegedly threatened that they would not find any other employment in the gastronomy sector in the future. The Chamber of Labor sees this as possible intimidation attempts.

The alleged statements have not yet been independently confirmed. These are accounts from employees that have been publicly reproduced by the Chamber of Labor.

Dvořák also raises the question of the possible motives for the described behavior in his statement.

From his perspective, it could have been an attempt to prevent employees from applying to other companies and instead continue employing them at particularly low wages.

The Chamber of Labor explicitly formulates this consideration as a possible explanation and not as a proven intention.

Dvořák also emphasizes the solidarity within the workforce.

„The Chamber of Labor naturally stands by the affected colleagues, and the workforce stands together,“ explained the labor law expert.

The legal representative of Mario Plachutta had already responded to the initial media reports.

He described the allegations as „incorrect“ to the „Kurier“.

There was no loud argument in the presence of guests. Rather, it was merely a conversation with the restaurant manager about the condition of the storage room.

The restaurateur found this to be „unworthy.“

A separate statement from Plachutta or his lawyer regarding the specific allegations published by the Chamber of Labor on Thursday is not included in the provided information.

Thus, different accounts of the alleged incident remain in the air.

The recent developments hit a traditional establishment that has already had economically challenging months behind it.

After the death of the previous managing director, the operating company of Café Engländer went into insolvency.

Nevertheless, the business was initially able to continue.

As reported by the Chamber of Labor, the Insolvency Payment Fund stepped in for the employees‘ wages in August and September.

This bought time to conduct a bidding process for the takeover of the establishment.

At the end of September, it was finally announced that the well-known Viennese restaurateurs Mario Plachutta and Peter Friese, who is associated with the traditional establishment „Zum Schwarzen Kameel,“ want to continue running the café.

The takeover was initially considered a glimmer of hope for the insolvent downtown establishment.

At the time of the first reports about the alleged employee conflict, the takeover had not yet been fully implemented in the ongoing operation.

As reported by the „Standard,“ the café continued to be operated under the responsibility of the insolvency administrator.

Mario Plachutta was already present at the location to make preparations for the planned takeover.

This explains why the operation initially continued unchanged despite the public discussions.

The Chamber of Labor describes the continued operation of the establishment as a fundamentally positive example of how an insolvent business can be continued with the help of the Insolvency Payment Fund and eventually transferred to new owners.

The Chamber of Labor also uses the case to draw attention to the financial situation of the Insolvency Payment Fund.

This fund is intended to secure outstanding claims of employees when employers become insolvent.

According to the Chamber of Labor, the employer’s contribution to the fund was halved from 0.2 to 0.1 percent in the past.

Dvořák criticizes this decision and points to a funding gap of 160 million euros, which, according to the Chamber of Labor, has now arisen.

The Chamber of Labor therefore calls for an immediate increase in the employer’s contribution to ensure the security of outstanding employee claims.

Regardless of the disputes, the closure of Café Engländer was announced for October 8th.

The reason given is extensive renovation work. The establishment is expected to remain closed for several weeks.

A definitive date for reopening is not yet known.

It is also unclear how many employees will continue to work at the café after the planned takeover and what gastronomic concept the new operators will pursue.

This marks the beginning of a phase of uncertainty for the well-known Viennese traditional establishment.

Following insolvency, a planned rescue by new operators, and the now publicized allegations, the restart of Café Engländer is under particular scrutiny.

(Ed.)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article .