Café Prückel Owner: 'My Coffee Tastes Good'

Christl Sedlar has been the proprietor of Vienna's Café Prückel for an astonishing 63 years, a tenure that began when she was just 20 years old.

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You have to like this profession. It came from my grandparents, then my father had the coffee house. And somewhere it just grew up with me.

Inheriting the establishment from her family, Sedlar initially co-managed the cafe for a decade with her father's second wife. "I had no say at all – but learned a lot," she recalled of those early years, describing them as "not nice times."

Sedlar's dedication to the profession stems from a deep-seated love for hospitality, a passion nurtured by her grandparents and father. She finds joy in ensuring guests are well-cared for, even if it means discreetly addressing minor issues, like placing a newspaper under a guest's feet if they put them on a chair. "Talking too much doesn't help, because then you get a stupid answer, and I'm not interested in that," she explained.

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I had no say at all – but learned a lot. Let's not talk about it, those were not nice times, I have to say that honestly.

Despite the passage of time and evolving customer habits, Café Prückel maintains a diverse clientele, attracting both older regulars and younger patrons. Sedlar attributes this to the cafe's enduring appeal as a place where people can "sit longer and get by cheaper." She emphasizes that the essence of coffeehouse culture is making guests feel comfortable, as if they have a "second living room."

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Talking too much doesn't help, because then you get a stupid answer, and I'm not interested in that.

While acknowledging that the once-tranquil atmosphere of coffeehouses has given way to a more hurried pace, Sedlar remains committed to the core values of hospitality. "Somewhere, yes, that is a shame. But it's the times that make people nervous, that make them hectic," she said.

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The Prückel is full – and the audience here is surprisingly well-mixed: older, younger, Viennese, tourists. How did you manage that?