Coolinaricic Café: A special pleasure in Salzburg gastronomy

Coolinaricic Café: A special pleasure in Salzburg gastronomy

In Salzburger Münzgasse, the Coolinarik Café under the direction of Rea Palic, 32, has had a special development in the past three and a half years. The café, which was opened in a former pocket business, defied the challenges of pandemic and successfully established itself in the city, although the first steps during the Corona restrictions and lockdowns were extremely difficult. In fact, the restaurant only opened in May 2021, and the early days was characterized by uncertainties and the lack of an established clientele.

for Palic, which had recently completed her business studies, the idea for the café came up during her numerous trips. Her concern was to create a gastronomic offer in her hometown that goes beyond traditional dishes such as Sachertorte and apple strudel. "Away from the classic, such as Sachertorte or apple strudel," she explains in the conversation about her concept, which specializes in creative dumplings. Over the years, she has been able to include a variety of new dishes, including baked apple and Snickers dumplings. The influence of her grandmother, who prepared plum dumplings, played an important role.

challenges of independence

The challenges that go hand in hand with independence have often given the entrepreneur with great tasks. In addition to the daily work in the café, accounting and personnel management are added, which are not always easy. "It takes a lot of time. You are 24/7 to keep an eye on the costs and everything has to fit together," she describes her everyday life, which is often shaped by unforeseen problems, especially with regard to the employee situation.

The search for reliable employees turns out to be difficult, especially since many applicants are not willing to work full -time, which repeatedly leads to personnel failures. "There are always 'sick leave', so it is difficult to draw up roster," complains Palic. Despite these difficulties, she and her partner Dominik, who has been working with her since November 2023, can build on the support of their families, who played an important role in their project from the start.

creativity and evolution of the menu

The constant adaptation of the menu to the wishes of the guests has proven to be consistently positive. Palic noticed that the trend towards vegan courts is going and has also integrated them into its offer. While the café mainly attracts younger women and families, the older generation has recently become increasingly popular in their restaurant. "Recently, a family celebrated the 80th birthday of the grandma with us," she says proudly.

The Coolinaricic Café has managed to build a loyal clientele and is increasingly promoted by social media. Palic is satisfied with the current status of her café, although she knows that you don't get rich in the catering trade. Rather, their motivation lies in the joy of the guests who confirm that the café is something special in Salzburg. "When I hear from my guests that we are something special and that they like to come back to us, that's enough for me," she says with a smile.

For the future, Palic hopes for a more harmonious way of dealing with the authorities and a more open city in order to experience fewer obstacles in their business work. "I also have the feeling that there are not the same rules in the city for everyone. I just hope that we will become more open and harmonious," she emphasizes.