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The cult restaurant “Rädchen” in the old town in Fulda remains open for the time being. The operators are resisting the new owners' plans.
Fulda – At first it was said that the “Rädchen” would have to close at the end of February – but the restaurant in Fulda in the old town, in the middle of the “Bermuda Triangle”, remains open. After the termination by the new property owners, the operators insist on honoring their fixed-term lease agreement, which runs until 2028.
Anyone who has passed the traditional Fulda restaurant “Zum Goldenen Rad” on Karlstrasse in the past few days may have been surprised: the restaurant is open. After the change of property owner in which the “wheel” is located, contradictory information caused irritation.
Cult restaurant in Fulda is fighting for survival: Rädchen remains open for the time being
At the end of January, the new owner said that the lease would be canceled and the operators would have to move out by February 28, 2026. “Contrary to all rumors, we will still be open as normal until summer,” it said on Thursday (March 5th). The restaurant's social media channels.
“Many people assume that we have already closed,” say Jonas Sporer and Karl Munzinger in an interview with the Fuldaer Zeitung. Together with Evelyn Ostertag, they have been running the “wheel” since 2022. “The fact is that our lease runs until April 2028 – and it is limited, so it cannot be easily terminated,” emphasizes Sporer.
The operators say they do not know what agreements and contracts exist between their lessor, the Hochstiftliches Brauhaus, and the new owners. “We still don’t know when we actually have to go out,” says Karl Munzinger.
Jonas Sporer could not confirm statements that the new owners were open to a new lease: At the first meeting, one of the new owners made it clear that he did not want to continue the existing lease. Sporer wanted to exchange contact details with them, but he was told that the lease would be terminated anyway.
It's hard to imagine a wheel move to another location
For restaurateurs, the issue is not just a purely business one, but also an emotional one. “It was a matter of the heart for me to take over the restaurant,” explains Sporer. He had been connected to the “cog” through his parents since 1991.
Karl Munzinger also emphasizes that a lot of passion goes into the work in the restaurant. According to Jonas Sporer, moving to another location is hardly an option. The “wheel” lives from its location, its reputation and its customers. “You can’t just reopen something like that somewhere else,” he complains.
For the operators, the situation is also representative of a development that can increasingly be observed in inner cities: “Gentrification – we are right in the middle of it,” says Sporer. This refers to the change in which traditional businesses are being displaced by the appreciation of real estate and changing ownership structures. What will happen to the “cog” in the future remains unclear.
Abdulkerim Demir, co-owner of the property, does not want to comment to the Fuldaer Zeitung at the moment and refers to a press event next week at which questions about the future of the building will be clarified. In January, Demir reported to the Fuldaer Zeitung that he and his business partner had in mind a restaurant concept with German cuisine, based on system catering.
