Berlin is replacing its restaurants rather than losing them, figures show

The Berliner Zeitung looks at the state of Berlin's restaurant scene under the headline "Gastro crisis in Berlin: these figures show how dramatic the situation really is". Restaurants keep having to close, the article says, and the most recent example is the India in Kreuzberg.

The India, an Indian restaurant at Bergmannstraße 100, first opened on 9 June 1995. It closed on 30 September 2026, after more than 31 years. A letter on the door reads "Danke für über 31 Jahre" (thanks for over 31 years) in large red letters. In it, operator Virender Aurora and his team thank guests for birthdays, family celebrations and first dates, and for everything that happened between kitchen and dining room over three decades.

The article then turns to exclusive figures. According to the paper, they show that Berlin is not losing its restaurants but exchanging them: closed places are replaced by new ones. Even so, the article says, restaurateurs are still anxious about their future. It also notes that going to a restaurant has become an expense people think about carefully.

The text available here is only the opening of the piece, which is behind a paywall. The specific figures and the reasons given for the owners' worries are therefore not covered.