Traditional business going Café Schöner in Bad Godesberg to close end of April

Bad Godesberg · Only a few weeks until a Bonn institution will – partly – disappear. Christa and Rudi Schöner are closing their café at Am Fronhof 7 at the end of April.

At the end of April Christa and Rudi Schöner will be closing their café at Am Fronhof 7. But the good news is that the bakery at Brunnenallee 10 will continue to operate. In addition, a successor has already been found for the café which is located diagonally opposite the Redoute in Bad Godesberg.

Elvira and Rudolf Schöner senior, who had previously worked at Café Agner on Moltkestraße, opened their first café on Koblenzer Straße in 1953, near to where the post office is situated today. 13 years later they moved to Brunnenallee, where the bakery is still located.

In 1977 they moved to the current premises at Am Fronhof. This was the year that son Rudi returned to Bonn and entered the family business. Previously he had worked as a confectioner in Munich and also took photos for the Münchner Merkur newspaper. "I passed my master's examination in Cologne in 1979," recalls Schöner, who took over his parents' café in 1986/87.

Twelve hours work each day

His wife Christa has been in the business with him for 30 years, and they have been married for 35 years and have two daughters. But why is it over after such a long time? For various reasons, says Schöner. On the one hand, it is due to their age. "My wife is 65 years old, I will be 65 this year." The café and bakery mean twelve hours of work a day, six days a week. And after his wife had a serious accident in November 2018, they now want to step down.

There are also financial reasons for the closure. In 2016, for example, the Schöners had to make unplanned investments when flooding devastated the square in front of their house on Brunnenallee, the garden and the cellar. The heating and electrics broke down and the chocolate coating machine only had scrap value. Last summer was also a problem: "We lost money almost every month," says Schöner. The guests had stayed away because of the heat. And the continuously new requirements from the authorities involve investments of both time and money.

Almond biscuits and Elisen gingerbread

The Schöner’s two daughters are not available to take over the business: one has won the German Hotel Young Talent Award and knows her way around the trade but lives in Hamburg. The other daughter is a goldsmith.

"I'm having a hard time closing the café," says Schöner. "After all, it's our life." Maybe that's why he is not leaving completely. The almond biscuits or the Elisen gingerbread, for example, which Schöner makes according to his great-grandfather's family recipe, are still available to order. If you feel like taking a course in chocolate making, you can also visit the bakery on the Brunnenallee. He still produces cakes for his key account customers and takes orders for weddings, birthdays or everyday needs. Such as the famous Black Forest gateau which was invented in Bad Godesberg, explains Schöner. Josef Keller, a fellow confectioner from Riedlingen, developed the idea for the cake in Café Agner. Schöner senior, who was working there in the 1950s, adopted the original recipe and passed it on to his son.

Schöner's products will also be available for his successor. He can't say who that is yet - only that it is to be a bistro where breakfast as well as cake will be served.

Contact details: Konditorei Schöner, Brunnenallee 10, 02 28/93 58 77 08, konditorei-schoener@t-online.de.

(Original text: Ayla Jacob, Translation: Caroline Kusch)

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