Gastro Consulting

What Gastro Consulting does

Gastro Consulting SKM GmbH is a Hamburg, Germany-based, owner-managed hospitality company founded in 1989 by Christoph Strenger. The firm develops and operates a diversified portfolio of restaurant, bar, and hotel concepts and provides centralized administration, consulting, and operational leadership to its sub-brands and licensed partner operators. Eleven sub-brands are operated, spanning Mexican (CHILLI CLUB), Bavarian beer-hall (Paulaner's), international (El Mundo), seafood and grill (coast by east), steakhouse and gin bar (VAIVAI), experience gastronomy (Herzblut St. Pauli), hotel and restaurant (east Hotel & Restaurant), rooftop (clouds), Bremen-based (LUV Bremen), and brewery-restaurant (Störtebeker Elbphilharmonie) formats, with the Elbphilharmonie venue added in 2016 as a flagship inside Hamburg's concert hall alongside Störtebeker Braugastronomie and east group.

Name

Gastro Consulting

Legal name

Gastro Consulting SKM GmbH

Website

https://gastroconsulting.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gastro Consulting SKM GmbH is a Hamburg-based, owner-managed hospitality company that develops, operates, and licenses a diversified portfolio of eleven German restaurant, bar, and hotel concepts serving individual diners and corporate event clients, with more than 800 employees across Hamburg, Bremen, and Gießen.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant and Hospitality Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Gastronomy & Wine-Focused Boutique Hotels (THAGADAG)

Keywords

• Restaurant operations
• Hospitality services
• Foodservice concepts
• Franchise partner programs
• Event catering venues

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Operations: The company generates revenue through operating multiple restaurant concepts under the Gastro Consulting SKM GmbH umbrella. Concepts include fullservice restaurants, leisure gastronomy, hotel restaurants, and event venues. Each concept targets different market segments and price points.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gastro Consulting SKM GmbH develops, operates and manages a diversified portfolio of restaurant, bar, hotel and event concepts across Germany under the Gastro Consulting umbrella. The company provides unified administration, consulting and leadership for each of its sub-brands and also licenses these concepts to partner operators through a turnkey franchise-like model. It covers key German foodservice segments including full-service dining, leisure gastronomy, hotels and event venues, employing over 800 people across multiple cities.

Product overview

Gastro Consulting SKM GmbH operates a diversified portfolio of restaurant, bar, and hotel concepts across Germany. The company manages multiple distinct sub-brands including Bolero (restaurant + bar), CHILLI CLUB (Mexican), El Mundo (world cuisine), Paulaner's (Bavarian beer hall), Herzblut St. Pauli (feel-good gastronomy), LUV Bremen, VAIVAI (steaks, burger & gin bar), east Hotel & Restaurant, clouds, coast by east (seafood & grill), and Störtebeker Elbphilharmonie (brewery restaurant at Elbphilharmonie). Founded in 1989 by Christoph Strenger, with Roland Koch joining as partner in 1994 and Michael Maier in 2003, the company employs over 800 people and covers market segments from full-service dining to leisure gastronomy and hotels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bolero: Restaurant plus bar concept with a combination of restaurant and bar under one roof, popular across all age groups.
• Paulaner's
• Herzblut St. Pauli
• CHILLI CLUB
• east Hotel & Restaurant
• VAIVAI Steaks, Burger & GINBar
• COAST by east
• clouds
• El Mundo
• LUV Bremen
• Störtebeker Elbphilharmonie

Products and services

• Bolero Restaurant plus bar concept combining dining and nightlife entertainment under one roof, popular across all age groups; one of the Gastro Consulting flagship concepts.
• CHILLI CLUB Mexican-inspired restaurant and bar concept.
• El Mundo World cuisine restaurant concept offering international dishes.
• Paulaner's Bavarian beer hall and restaurant concept featuring traditional German cuisine and Paulaner beers.
• Herzblut St. Pauli Feel-good and experience gastronomy venue located in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, opened February 2002 as a pioneer of 'Wohlfühl- und Erlebnis-gastronomie'.
• LUV Bremen Restaurant and bar concept in Bremen.
• VAIVAI Steaks, Burger & GINBar Steakhouse and burger restaurant with gin bar, located in Bremen; opened in 2014.
• east Hotel & Restaurant Hotel and restaurant operation in Hamburg; celebrating 15 years in 2019.
• clouds Restaurant and bar concept.
• coast by east Seafood, grill and bar concept presented in prime locations, partnering with Sansibar Wine.
• Störtebeker Elbphilharmonie Restaurant and bar at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie featuring 'Beer & Dine' with Störtebeker brewery specialties and Nordic cuisine, 'Taste & Shop' beer tastings with biersommeliers, and 'Deck & Deli' panoramic cafe; 220 seats plus adjacent bar/lounge. Opened autumn 2016 in partnership with east group and Störtebeker Braugastronomie.
• Partner/Franchise Program Partnership opportunity for external operators to open Gastro Consulting concepts. Requirements include €100,000 minimum equity, gastronomy experience and identification with company values. Partners receive complete turnkey concept setup including equipment, training and ongoing support, plus access to centralized purchasing terms.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and supporting.

• Störtebeker BraugastronomiemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partnership with Störtebeker Braugastronomie from Stralsund to open the Störtebeker Elbphilharmonie restaurant in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. Concept features 'Beer & Dine' with innovative Nordic cuisine paired with exclusive Störtebeker brewery specialties. Includes restaurant with 220 seats, bar/lounge, Taste & Shop beer tasting area, and Deck & Deli panoramic cafe.
• east groupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with east group on various hospitality ventures including Störtebeker Elbphilharmonie and east Hotel & Restaurant. East group is an established Hamburg hospitality company.
• Hospitality Management School (HSM)supportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHSM is a project of the Food & Beverage Management Stiftung and Leaders Club Deutschland AG in cooperation with WIHOGA Dortmund and industry partners. Provides continuing education opportunities for hospitality talent. Classes taught by industry professionals with current contacts to gastronomy, hospitality, and viticulture sectors.
• Food & Beverage Management StiftungsupportingOthersFoundation behind the Hospitality Management School (HSM) project, providing professional development for hospitality management talent.
• WIHOGA DortmundsupportingOthersPartner educational institution in the Hospitality Management School (HSM) project, contributing to hospitality management education.
• Leaders Club Deutschland AGsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of Hospitality Management School (HSM) project, representing the Leaders Club wine business. The Leaders Club acquired two vineyards in abandoned steep slopes at the Mosel, produces its own Riesling, and organizes leadership development wine camps. Wine production and vineyard work handled by Cusanus Hof, a facility of the German Red Cross employing disabled staff.
• Cusanus Hof (German Red Cross)supportingOthersFacility of the German Red Cross that handles wine production and vineyard work for the Leaders Club Riesling. Provides meaningful employment for disabled workers.
• Leaders Club WinesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerWine program available in almost all Gastro Consulting establishments. Produces Riesling from Mosel vineyards and organizes leadership camps for young hospitality talent.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vapiano SE: German-headquartered casual Italian restaurant chain operating a network of company-owned and franchised locations. Comparable as a German-rooted multi-concept restaurant operator with a partner/franchise expansion model and shared-services backbone.
• Marché International GmbH: International gastro operator (Swiss roots) running multiple gastro concepts at high-traffic locations across Europe. Comparable as a multi-brand restaurant operator using standardized concepts and central administration, similar go-to-market to Gastro Consulting's partner/franchise model.
• Kofler & Kompanie GmbH: German premium restaurant, hotel, event-catering, and food-court operator running multiple concepts. Comparable for its portfolio-style operation spanning full-service, event, and event-catering segments in Germany with a unifying management platform.
• Peter Pane Burgergrill & Bar: German burger restaurant chain operating across multiple cities with a centralized concept and franchise-style expansion. Comparable for the standardized concept model, multi-location presence, and centralized administration as a German casual-dining operator.
• L'Osteria GmbH: German-Italian casual dining restaurant chain with substantial company-operated and franchise estate across Germany and Europe. Closely comparable for its multi-concept approach, franchise model, and German HQ with broad market-segment coverage.
• Hans im Glück Franchise GmbH: German burger and casual dining franchise chain with a heavily franchise-led growth model. Comparable as a German-origin, franchise-driven casual dining operator partnering with equity-bearing entrepreneurs, similar to Gastro Consulting's partner program structure.
• Maredo Restaurants GmbH: Operates a German chain of steak and casual-dining restaurants with multiple concepts/brands under one corporate umbrella. Directly comparable as a multi-brand German gastro operator with nationwide footprint and partner-program elements.
• Block House Restaurantbetrieb AG: German multi-location steakhouse chain with company-operated and franchise locations nationwide. Closely comparable as a diversified German restaurant group running a recurring concept with centralized administration and broad market coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Mitchells & Butlers Germany (Alex Gastro): Germany arm of UK-listed Mitchells & Butlers operating the Alex full-service restaurant chain in major German cities. Comparable as a broadly established multi-location full-service restaurant operator, but at much larger scale and with corporate ownership.

Others

• Störtebeker Braugastronomie GmbH: Brewery-affiliated gastro operator running beer-and-dining venues including the Elbphilharmonie flagship. Listed because Gastro Consulting co-runs the Elbphilharmonie venue; relevant as a strategic partner rather than a competitor in adjacent brewery-gastronomy space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gastro-consulting-skm-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gastro Consulting