Szeged’s oldest and most famous restaurant closes – PHOTOS

As no chef could be found, the famous restaurant Gulyás Csárda (Goulash Tavern), which has been operating in Szeged for 65 years, closes down. Even for a sufficient salary offer, noone wanted to work in the restaurant as a chef.

After 65 years, the end is here for Gulyás Csárda

The restaurant has been open every day for 65 years, apart from the strictest epidemic closure in recent years, Szegedi Nap reports. Even though they offered a job for eight hours and a net salary of HUF 450 000 (EUR 1122), no chefs have applied. Thus, after more than six decades of operation, one of Szeged’s first restaurants, the Gulyás Csárda, closed. The owner of the restaurant, János Holló, told Index about the circumstances of the closure.

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Severe labour shortage

“The labour shortage is so severe that we had to close the Gulyás Csárda in Szeged. And it is not just a local problem, it is a national problem, that we ran out of cooks. But train drivers and bricklayers cannot begin to cook, because the expertise is needed. I will find gold in the grass before I find a good cook in Hungary. That is how bad the lack of supply is,” János Holló, who was forced to close his iconic restaurant nearly a week and a half ago, shared his story with Index.

János Holló rented the Mars Square restaurant for 22 years from IKV Ingatlankezelő és Vagyongazdálkodó Zrt, a company of the Szeged municipality.

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“I can use one word to explain why I closed the Gulyás Csárda – lack of cooks (one word in Hungarian – ed.). If it can be in two words, it is a global shortage of cooks (two words in Hungarian – ed.),” Holló told the news portal. He paid a net HUF 450 000 to his cooks, who worked 15 days on and 15 days off, but this net HUF 30 000 (EUR 74.8) per day was not enough to keep the workforce. So on 19 June, the curtain was finally closed, Telex writes.

No chef found

The owner of the Gulyás Csárda added that before the closure, they tried to find qualified chefs in every forum, they mobilized their entire circle of acquaintances, and even borrowed chefs from other restaurants.

“In the last three-four-five months, when I was spending my umpteenth night without sleep because of it, I said that even if my heart is bleeding, it is not worth it, it has to end now. Many people in Szeged expressed their regret after we closed the restaurant last Sunday. But we are still in business, we still have three boarding houses, so the family’s livelihood is not in danger,”

János Holló shared that at least they have a way forward after the closure of the Gulyás Csárda.

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Source: Index, Telex, Szegedi Nap