It was March 7th, 2020. In the “Kitzloch” – a bar in Ischgl, the bartender tested positive for the corona virus. As a result, the employees were isolated and the bar was temporarily closed. The authorities asked visitors to the bar to call the health hotline 1450. A day later it became known that Icelanders who had previously become known were sick in the “Kitzloch”. On March 9th, the “Kitzloch” bar was officially closed.
Now Bernhard Zangerl, head of the “Kitzloch” has an interview with the Austria Press Agency for the preservation of the “cultural facility” après-ski. This is because this is “as important as the opera ball.” Zangerl sees strict 2G admission controls as an essential contribution to this preservation.
It’s that time again on November 20th. Then the “Kitzloch” will open its gates again. Zangerl promised his guests “an experience as ever”. The restaurant is still the perfect place to switch off. To have a drink with friends or to get to know people from all over the world, ”said Zangerl. Après-ski is like an extra “vacation after skiing”, he added.
Zangerl wants to distance himself from the image of the Ballermann of the Alps ”. “We’re not, we don’t drink from buckets and we don’t offer flat-rate offers,” he emphasized. You don’t play “primitive drinking songs”, but focus on “proven classics like DJ Ötzi or Wolfgang Ambros”, explained the Kitzloch operator.
Since the “spotlight is on Ischgl”, you now have the chance to polish up the image of après-ski again. “We want to implement the Corona rules very precisely and become an absolute model destination in this regard,” said Zangerl. His employees would also be trained on site by a doctor on where and how viruses can be transmitted particularly easily.
Until the season opens at the end of next week, however, Zangerl wants to take things a little easier: “We’ll open a week earlier so that we can celebrate the start of the season with guests, friends and suppliers in advance,” he said. But he is not afraid of the big rush afterwards. “We are there for the general public and we are absolutely ready for it,” explained the “Kitzloch” mastermind, who also runs other restaurants in Ischgl.
