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From Ulrich Wolf
Leipzig. The best gourmet restaurant in Saxony has closed unexpectedly and at short notice. This affects the "Falco" in Leipzig, the best culinary address in the Free State according to the Gault Millau 2023/24 restaurant guide. First reported by the Bild newspaper and the Leipziger Volkszeitung about the end.
The website of the noble restaurant high above the rooftops of Leipzig is not accessible. It is located on the 27th floor of the Westin Hotel. Its director since 2005, Andreas Hachmeister, announced that it was a "heartbreaking decision to close the restaurant". They had done "everything in our power to keep the restaurant open".
According to the Falco imprint from June 2023, Hachmeister is the "general manager authorized to represent" the Westin-Leipzig Hotelgesellschaft Gerberstraße Betriebs-GmbH. However, there is no entry for this company in the commercial register. Only a company based in Düsseldorf can be found there as the operator of the Leipzig Westin Hotel and thus also of the "Falco".
This company published its financial statements for 2021 in September 2023, according to which the Westin Hotel in Leipzig had incurred a loss of a good 1.4 million euros in that financial year. The operating company is owned by an investment company in Luxembourg. On the group side, the Leipzig hotel belongs to the listed US company Marriot.
Recently archived websites of the "Falco" show that people were still being sought for many positions in the kitchen and service. In addition to the shortage of staff, increased salaries and purchase prices for the ingredients used in the posh menus are said to be the reason for the closure. Most of the "Falco" employees have been offered other jobs in the hotel, it is said.
The trade journal Gourmet-Report quotes Hachmeister as saying that the heart of the restaurant, which opened in 2005, was the kitchen and service team, "who provided unforgettable taste experiences with tireless commitment, creativity and dedication". However, the 54-year-old chef Peter Maria Schnurr, who comes from the Black Forest, is not mentioned at all in the report. On his latest Instagram post from the beginning of October with the comment "#falcolovesyou", Schnur showed himself laughing in his kitchen.
The Gault Millau 2023/24 restaurant guide awarded Falco four out of five possible toques. This is the highest rating for a restaurant in Saxony.
