Passengers on ÖBB long-distance trains will continue to be catered for by Wiener Donhauser GmbH (DoN’s). The caterer emerged as the best bidder in a Europe-wide tender, and the cooperation with the Federal Railways has been ongoing since 2008. The new framework agreement will run for an initial three years from the timetable change in December 2024, with the possibility of extension for up to eight years, according to ÖBB.
The contract includes the sale of food and drinks in the on-board restaurants, mobile (trolley) service solutions, seat service for 1st and business class, and vending machine support by the company’s own staff on the train. The focus is on Austrian products from regional suppliers, and more than 30 percent of the products on offer are organically certified and 75 percent come from Austria.
The man behind DoN’s is Lower Austrian restaurateur Josef Donhauser. According to its own information, the company has around 2,000 employees and is the largest privately run gastronomy and catering company in Austria. Donhauser has also held the master franchise license for the Vapiano restaurant chain for Austria and the Alpe-Adriatic region since 2020.
