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Cologne gastronomy in distress: Another year of losses is looming!
The catering industry in Germany will face a deep crisis in 2025 with rising costs and declining sales.
Cologne gastronomy in distress: Another year of losses is looming!
The situation in Cologne's hospitality industry is tense. The economic challenges are immense, as is the Cologne City Gazette reported. A survey of 4,000 companies shows: Sales fell by more than nine percent in July 2025 compared to the previous year. The rainy weather and immensely rising costs for electricity and goods are driving many restaurateurs to despair. More and more companies fear that they will soon be in the red.
Heiko Hörnecke, owner of the popular “Quetsch” brewery, expresses his concern about the lack of income. Despite a certain influx, there is great uncertainty. Matthias Johnen from Dehoga North Rhine confirms that only 20% of restaurateurs report stable sales. According to the current status, the industry is facing its sixth year of losses in a row.
Price increase and customer behavior
While prices in restaurants have risen by over 26 percent since January 2022, guests are going out less often. Dennis Lieske from “Gaffel am Dom” speaks of rising purchasing prices, especially for meat and other staple foods. Although Hörnecke had to increase prices by twelve to fifteen percent, he sees limits to customer interest at a certain point.
The analysis of daily news makes it clear that the significant increase in the cost of food and energy is leading to customers increasingly choosing cheaper meals or even forgoing extras. As a result, restaurant sales fell by 4.1 percent in real terms in the first half of 2025, while hotels got off relatively lightly with a decline of 2.6 percent.
The future of the hospitality industry
According to Dehoga President Guido Zöllick, the situation is particularly worrying for small and medium-sized family businesses. A total of 32.9% of companies fear that they will end up in the loss zone. A glimmer of hope could be the return of the reduced VAT on food, which was reduced to 7 percent during the pandemic. From January 2024, however, the regular rate of 19 percent will apply again. 76.2% of the companies surveyed are of the opinion that the permanent reduction in sales tax to 7 percent could contribute to stabilization - a demand that is becoming increasingly louder.
What's even more alarming is that according to the recent report by Dehoga 72.1% of entrepreneurs were unable to make necessary investments. In addition, the minimum wage will be increased by 8.4 percent in January 2026, which will further burden costs.
The catering industry is not only a central client for local producers, it also employs more than 2.2 million people in Germany. The challenges are enormous, and the industry urgently needs support so that the Cologne hospitality industry does not finally fall into a crisis.