The Gasthaus zum Kirchenwirt in St. Johann-Köppling is a showcase example of a Styrian family business and Styrian inn culture, which has been family-owned since 1931. Throughout this time, it has decisively shaped the life and culture of the village. It is a meeting place for after church, after work and for celebrations. The menu was small and simple, but the Kirchenwirt was an important hub in the village – a real local inn.

In 2003, the innkeeper and father of TSBG graduate Thomas Stadtegger passed away after a long and serious illness, and subsequently his took over the inn together with his wife Karin, also a graduate of the tourism schools.

Thomas completed the professional school for the hospitality industry in Bad Gleichenberg in 1990. He then went to Graz to work at Weincontor Stündl and in the 2-toque restaurant “Gerlindes Gasthaus”, where he was sous chef. He almost always worked in the kitchen, because cooking is his passion. In 1997 he returned home to his parents’ business, as his father was already very ill.

Karin Stadtegger, née Kurz, graduated from the secondary school in Bad Gleichenberg in 1993. After a season in the Arlberg, she started her career in the travel industry in Graz with Gruber Reisen. In 2002 the two met again and became a couple. A short time later, Karin gave up the travel industry and together they put all their knowledge and heart and soul into the family business and began to rebuild it according to their own ideas.

That was a time of upheaval and new beginnings, because the inn had not been in the foreground in previous years due to the father’s serious illness, so there was plenty to do.

After a lot of hard work and with diligence and patience, the Kirchenwirt became a well-known and successful restaurant and the success proved them right. Quality should be in the foreground, that was clear from the beginning. Regional and seasonal dishes and good Austrian wines paired with Styrian inn culture, cordiality and authenticity. That was the vision of Karin and Thomas.

In the meantime, the Gasthaus zum Kirchenwirt has been managed under the Steirischer Dorfwirt seal of quality for years. Under the management of the Stadtegger family, the inn became a place to meet, a place to linger and communicate, but also a place to enjoy.

In addition to the normal day-to-day running of the village inn, the Stadteggers also supply the local kindergarten, nursery and primary school with up to 80 children’s menus a day, and the trend is upwards, with a clear emphasis on quality.
But the family business is also built on two other pillars besides gastronomy: energy supply and renting.  With its own local heating network, which is based on wood chips, the business, the primary school and another 20 flats are supplied.

In 2019 and 2020, the building was rebuilt, the first floor was sanded down and a completely CO2 neutral floor was built on top in a modern style. The interiors, however, retained their traditional appearance. As a result, the Gasthaus zum Kirchenwirt reflects the kitchen philosophy of the Stadtegger family – good plain and regional cuisine, interpreted in a new way.

And where investments are made for the future, the future is already waiting in the wings. The eldest son Thomas has decided on a career in the construction industry, although the second heart in his chest has always beaten for gastronomy. For his younger sister Hannah, on the other hand, it was clear from the beginning that she would become an innkeeper with heart and soul. This passion led her, like her parents before her, to the tourism schools. She is currently attending the second class of the Higher Institute for Tourism.

For the past four years, the Stadtegger family has been supported by two other helping hands from the TSBG family. Maurice Schutti-Knopper, who attends the fourth grade of the Higher School of Tourism, enriches the team as a service employee on almost all weekends and holidays.

But Hannah and Thomas also help in the enterprise. Thomas in waitressing and Hannah, the multi-talent, simply everywhere she is needed.

“Our children have grown up with the family business, they know all the strengths and weaknesses and are heavily involved in the success and growth,” says Karin Stadtegger – it’s just in their blood – they are inn children.

Eine Familie mit Kraft und Leidenschaft:

Thomas Stadtegger: „Geht nicht – gibt´s nicht“

Zitate von Thomas – warum Bad Gleichenberg: Ich wurde im Gasthaus groß und die Gastro interessierte mich von klein an. Der Betrieb war mir immer schon sehr ans Herz gewachsen, somit machte ich meine Ausbildung in Bad Gleichenberg.

Karin Stadtegger:

„Man muss aus jeder Situation, das Beste rausholen! Es gibt immer einen Weg.“

„Gleichenberg war nicht immer einfach für mich, aber es ist fantastisch, dass wir immer noch so regen und sehr guten Kontakt unter einander haben. Wir treffen uns mind. alle 5 Jahre oder früher. Wir verstehen uns noch immer herrlich. Der Zusammenhalt unter Ex Gleichenbergern ist ein Wahnsinn“

„Schon als kleines Kind hat mich, die Hotellerie und die große Welt interessiert. Somit beschloss ich, ganz unbescholten (hatte nie etwas mit dem Tourismus zu tun), nach Bad Gleichenberg zu gehen.“

Hannah Stadtegger (16 Jahre, Schülerin der HL2a):

„Schon als kleines Kind half ich im elterlichen Betrieb und am liebsten in der Küche. Ich probierte ständig neue Rezepte aus und entwickelte meine eigenen Kreationen. Ich begann schon mit 8 Jahren Kochbücher zu sammeln. Mit 13 machte ich bei den Juniorköchen in Bad Gleichenberg mit und wusste, dass wird mein Weg werden. Somit begann ich die Tourismusschule in Bad Gleichenberg.“

Thomas Stadtegger (18 Jahre):

„Ich besuche derzeit die Ortweinschule für Tiefbautechnik und schließe nächstes Jahr mit der Matura ab. Den Zusammenhalt unter den Gleichenbergern finde ich sehr bewundernswert.“