Interview with Thomas M. Schnolzer, owner of cafe ERDE

The man himself

 This is a much awaited interview with my friend Thomas, who is the owner, chef, worker, and pretty much everything in his Vegan Café/Restaurant Erde, situated in Graz.

 I met Tom through a friend who was working there, and because of us opening a place in Graz, I had plenty to ask him about the way things work in Austria. He helped me a lot with understanding the system over there. I also got the opportunity to work some shifts in Erde and see how things are run and get to know him a little better.

 Erde is definitely a hippy place, with plenty of cool people working there and hanging out there, there is such a great vibe of sharing, happiness and care throughout it and this is of course a direct reflection of the owner. Not only is Erde completely Vegan food but it checks every single thing to make sure that nothing with any animal products is served at the restaurant… for instance even the beer has to have labels that were made without animal substances in the glue (I don’t even know how he manages to do this much research and careful selection).

 His food is delicious and healthy, his place is beautiful and cool, his staff are happy and loads of fun to work with, and he is a generous and caring manager. Everything starts from the top, and I am pretty sure that the success of ERDE is a direct reflection of the hard work and care of this guy.  Tom pretty much works tirelessly to make sure that everything is working right at ERDE, sometimes he seems super stressed out and is literally running all over the place to tie up every loose end. I could really relate to him on that feeling, and it was cool to meet someone who had a similar amount of pressure in his work (though his is far greater then mine).

 From meeting him I really saw how much work it is to run a restaurant (a good one at least), and how much of yourself you have to give if you want to succeed. If anyone is going to Graz I highly recommend you to check out ERDE and have a meal there, it’s a great place. I am so thrilled that we will be in the same city. Let me tell you guys, this is a short interview, but you can learn a lot from a person like this.. so give it a read.

the outside of Erde packed with people

Q. Why entrepreneur?

A. Being your own boss is giving you the opportunity to be the change in the system like you wanna have it.

Q. What made you want to start your own company, Why not just work for another Vegan restaurant?

A. Especially as a vegan living person it is very difficult to find a working place in a restaurant where you don`t have to be in contact with animal products. And because there was no existing vegan restaurant in Graz at the time I had to open it myself

Q. Would you ever work for someone else’s company?

A. Of course. But it is very important for me to work in a friendly and respectful environment.

Q. If you didn’t set up your own business what would you have done?

A. Maybe I would have finished my studies and would have become an ethic teacher at school.

Q. What are the greatest challenges for you personally?

A. Trying to separate private from working relationships.  An employer can be a friend but it`s getting more difficult if you can`t keep a certain distance.

Q. What changes did having your own business bring to your life?

A. Lots of broken relationships because of never ending working hours… no free time at all.

Q. How did your friendships, family and other relationships react?

A. Some were of my family members and friends were sceptical (doubtful) if my idea would work out and wanted to make me stop my business before I even started it.

Q. What about your business is unique and gets the attention of the market?

A. We are the first and only vegan café/restaurant in Graz and what it makes unique in my opinion is that it combines the atmosphere of a restaurant and alternative culture meeting point in the middle of the city.

Q. how much money did it take and did you have support from other sources of financing?

A. I needed about € 30.000 to start my business. It was mostly about kitchen-machines and interior.

Q. Where do you see it going?

A. It seems to get more and more popular. And if I manage to handle the financial situation it will be a great success. Because in our third year we still see no limit to the top. Every day are more people coming and spreading our name and idea.