26.07.2023 StorfWirt

Storfwirt is a dining concept in Reutte known for its self-service lunch, catering and event services, as well as its delicatessen selection. With daily changing lunch specials, there’s never a chance for boredom. Whether fresh salads, hearty soups, or delicious main courses – there is something to suit every taste. All dishes are prepared fresh daily and impress with quality, flavor, and excellent value for money. The restaurant is open to the public at lunchtime only. In the evenings and on weekends, Storfwirt is reserved exclusively for private events.

In addition, the delicatessen section offers a wide variety of culinary specialties. Snacks and a hot counter are perfect for a quick bite in between. Located in the heart of Reutte, it’s the ideal stop for visitors, locals, hikers, and cyclists alike.

Alongside its restaurant service, Storfwirt also provides professional catering. Whether it’s a birthday, wedding, or corporate event, the experienced team ensures that guests are well taken care of. From buffets and finger food to multi-course menus, every event becomes a culinary highlight. All dishes are freshly prepared and attractively presented – a treat not only for the palate, but also for the eyes.

In my interview with Rainer Katzensteiner and Martin Jäger, I would like to learn more about StorfWirt and its two operators, and I’m already looking forward to an interesting conversation.

Both of you have built impressive and successful careers. Would you like to briefly share your professional journeys and tell us how you first met?

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“After graduating from high school in Germany, I began working abroad as an entertainer. During that time, I decided to pursue a career in the hotel industry. In 1996, I graduated from a hotel management school in Switzerland. I then worked for a Munich-based consulting firm in The Gambia, West Africa, which gave me a great start in hotel management. After a period in Malta, I was recruited through a headhunting agency in 2000 as Service Manager at the Festspielhaus in Füssen. At that time, Martin was working there as Sous Chef. Following a short break as Hotel Director in southern Italy, I returned to the Festspielhaus as Director of Food & Beverage. By then, Martin had already become Head Chef. After the theater went bankrupt, I moved to eastern Munich to manage a country estate with a hotel. About a year and a half later, I received a call from Martin asking whether the business opportunity here in Reutte might be the perfect chance for us to become self-employed together.”

Martin Jäger:

“I was born as the fifth child into a family with a strong agricultural background. After finishing school, I completed my classical training as a chef at Hotel Schwarz in Mieming, which is still a highly renowned establishment today.

After that, I worked in various hotels in the Ötztal and in Switzerland. For a time, I also cooked in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Garmisch. I then worked at the Alpenrose in Lermoos before joining the Ludwig Musical Theater in Füssen as Sous Chef, where I gained experience in system catering. Just six months later, I was promoted to Head Chef. After the theater closed, there was a period when I no longer wanted to work in the hospitality industry. I moved into field sales for the company Sander Gourmet – an interesting time, as it allowed me to get to know many different products, partners, and suppliers. The decisive day was May 1, 2005. I met Martin Storf in Breitenwang. He asked whether I would be interested in leasing and running the StorfWirt. On May 2, 2005, I made my decision: yes, I would. On May 8, 2005, I called Rainer and asked if he wanted to join me. After that, everything moved quite quickly. On November 21, 2005, we reopened StorfWirt.”

When planning a restaurant, there are many factors to consider. Was it always your dream to run your own business, or did the idea of having your own restaurant develop over time?

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“To be honest, until the day Martin called me, I had never given any thought to becoming self-employed. That was certainly because I had very good positions with strong contracts from a young age. At the time, things were probably going too well for me to even consider running my own business. After my time at the Festspielhaus came to an end, I actually saw my future abroad again. When Martin asked whether we should start our own business together, I was initially quite overwhelmed. Looking back now, after 18 years, it’s curious that I can hardly imagine going back to anything else. But to say that it had always been my dream would be an exaggeration.”

Martin Jäger:

“For me, it was definitely different. Right after completing my apprenticeship, I became a head chef in the Ötztal at the age of 20 and my career developed very successfully. In 1996, I completed my certification as a Master Chef of Austria. Like Rainer, I earned good money early on and was financially independent. Nevertheless, it was always my intention to open my own place one day. However, it’s not easy to find the right opportunity. You build a house, you have a family with two young children to support, and naturally you think carefully about such a step. But when I saw this combination of a restaurant and a delicatessen, I knew that this was the moment to make the move.”

Since its opening, StorfWirt has established itself very successfully. What made you decide to lease and run the business together?

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“Our decision to do this together definitely goes back to our time at the Festspielhaus. We worked very well as a team back then and always had a lot of fun doing so. We were a strong team of three, including a service manager who is still a close friend of ours today. It was clear that our professional collaboration gradually grew into a real friendship. In our case, it’s also important to mention that we benefit greatly from covering two completely different areas of the business. While Martin focuses on quality, the kitchen, and purchasing, I take care of the front of house, marketing, sales, and accounting. Each of us has our own area of responsibility, and we trust the other to manage theirs without much interference.”

Martin Jäger:

“As Rainer already mentioned, our friendship has existed since our time at the musical theater. Of course, you also have to convince your wife that starting your own business is a good idea. That becomes much easier when you know you have a strong partner by your side who truly understands his craft. And honestly, I preferred doing it as a team, following the principle: ‘A shared burden is half the burden.’ If I had to make the decision again today, I would still call Rainer.”

In addition to the restaurant, guests can also visit your delicatessen shop. How did the partnership with the company Hörtnagl come about, and what can customers find there?

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“Long-time residents of Reutte know that the Storf butcher’s shop was very well established. Our landlord, Martin Storf, completely rebuilt the business from the ground up. At first glance, it may seem closely related, but the delicatessen sector is actually a very different and challenging field. We both knew that this was an area where we lacked experience, as neither of us had ever worked in this segment before. If I remember correctly, Martin happened to come across an advertisement at the time in which the company Hörtnagl was looking for franchise partners. We then contacted Hörtnagl and started discussions. However, we quickly realized that we didn’t want to become a franchise partner, because it was important for us to maintain our individuality there as well. In the end, we agreed on a cooperation instead.”

Martin Jäger:

“Hörtnagl has been a well-established and reliable name in the delicatessen sector for many decades and stands for quality. When it comes to our meat products, we chose a very specialized supplier: À la Carte Fleischspezialitäten GmbH & Co. KG. It’s a quality provider that’s hard to match. Of course, quality comes at a price. It was also important to us to give the shop our own personal touch. That’s why our delicatessen range includes many homemade dishes such as lasagna, cannelloni, spleen slices, liver dumplings, spinach dumplings, vegetable patties, and more. Combined with our own freshly prepared deli salads, this results in a wide selection.

Customers can also order gift baskets and cold platters, which are truly exceptional thanks to the quality of Hörtnagl’s products and our own specialties. Our party pretzels are also worth mentioning – they’re unlike any others. In our cold kitchen, we have a fantastic team that creates outstanding buffets.”

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“We’re also very proud that a number of companies in the region now rely on us and regularly order their snack platters from us. Some orders come in by email, are freshly prepared every morning, and then delivered. The snack business has become an essential part of what we do.”

Working in the hospitality industry can be very diverse, varied, and sometimes stressful. At the same time, there are certainly tasks that need to be taken care of every day. What does a typical weekday look like for you?

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“We’re definitely a business where there’s never a dull moment. Of course, there are periods when an enormous amount of work comes our way all at once, especially toward the end of the year during the Christmas season. A typical workday for us begins with both of us arriving at the premises at 7:00 a.m. Martin starts production at that time, while I take care of smaller accounting tasks.

The morning then continues with the usual sales-related activities, such as answering emails and handling customer inquiries. After that, we move on to mise en place for the lunch service or for catering orders. It’s important to remember that, for example, if we have a large wedding coming up, the preparations don’t start on the actual day of the event, but several days in advance. In general, from Monday to Wednesday we mainly focus on the daily business and lunch service. The closer it gets to the weekend, the more our work shifts toward catering operations.”

Martin Jäger:

“A typical workday starts at 7:00 a.m. with production, beginning with coordination and planning together with my kitchen team. Of course, I’m actively involved in the production myself. Between 10:00 and 10:30 a.m., I already head out to deliver the first snack orders. Once the lunch service begins, we also help out with food service as needed. As is common in a small business, we do everything ourselves – from accounting and kitchen planning to sweeping the yard. That’s simply part of our routine. Our days are extremely varied – ranging from preparing 1,000 schnitzel sandwiches for a local festival to organizing a candlelight dinner for two. That variety makes the work exciting and interesting, but it also makes it difficult to describe a typical workday.”

These days, most people place great importance on regional products. Would you like to tell me where you source the ingredients you use for your lunch menus and the various catering services?

Martin Jäger:

“When it comes to regional sourcing, one thing has to be said very clearly: there simply aren’t enough premium cuts from local lamb, veal, and chicken available to meet the quantities we need. When I say we buy regionally, we do purchase many products from the company Speckbacher. But strictly speaking, that’s not truly regional, as Speckbacher is a wholesale supplier. All the vegetables we can source locally during the summer come from my brother in Mieming – that’s both regional and seasonal. For high-quality meat, we work with À la Carte Fleischspezialitäten GmbH & Co. KG. Our cooperation partner Hörtnagl also guarantees that only Austrian meat and sausage products are offered. I’m a big supporter of regional sourcing, but you also have to remain realistic.”

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“Especially in a business like ours, where such large quantities are served. On a typical day at lunch, we prepare between 350 and 400 meals (including canteens and kindergartens). So the romantic idea of a ‘Tyrolean pig’ that was born, raised, and freshly slaughtered locally for our lunch menu simply doesn’t reflect reality. That’s just not possible.”

Martin Jäger:

“What’s very important to us is that we cook properly from scratch and avoid convenience products. Even today, we still make our desserts such as panna cotta and chocolate mousse, as well as our sauces, ourselves. You won’t find packaged soups on our lunch menu either – even at a price of €9.90. Of course, you might occasionally find purchased spinach ravioli, but at a price of €8.90, it’s simply not possible to offer handmade ravioli. Naturally, we try to use as much local beef as possible. But as I said, first, it’s not feasible from a workload perspective, and second, a single animal only provides two entrecôtes and two fillets – while a Christmas event might require 50 fillets. So when someone claims they use only Tyrolean beef for everything, we have to be honest – that’s simply not realistic.”

To successfully handle the wide range of catering orders as well as the rush for the popular lunch menu, a well-coordinated team is essential. What’s your secret to ensuring smooth collaboration and making sure that every step runs flawlessly?

Rainer Katzensteiner:

“That certainly has a lot to do with experience. We’ve grown step by step over the years and learned continuously along the way. Seventeen years ago, we organized catering events for around 50 people. Over time, the events became larger and more professional.

Of course, having a great team is essential. As an employer today, you have to find the right balance between supporting and challenging your staff. A team is only as strong as the way it works together as a unit. We’re fortunate to have built such a wonderful team. Our employees work very well together and many of them have been with us for years. We’re truly proud that staff turnover is very low. In the end, that’s our secret. I can also say that Martin and I always lead from the front. No one in this business will work harder than we do, and no one will push as much as we do. We want to set an example and show our team: ‘Come along this path with us.’ So far, that has worked very well, and we’re very proud of it.”

Martin Jäger:

“I don’t think there’s much to add. As Rainer mentioned, a lot has developed over the years. We’re always right in the middle of things. Even today, there’s hardly a catering event that goes out without one of us being present. Not because we think we’re so great, but because it’s important to us to be there for our clients. Large events require extensive planning and can only be successfully managed with an experienced, committed team that feels valued.”

You’ve been working in the hospitality industry for many years. What’s a memorable “oops moment” that has stayed with you to this day?

Written by:

Vanessa