“I wanted to recreate the type of tavern I knew from the village that I grew up in and then open it in the city center. On top of that, I wanted to prove that even an environmentally-friendly company is capable of being profitable. And the result of all this was Der Klinglwirt!” – Sonja Obermeier
Sonja Obermeier grew up in the tavern Klinglwirt in Weidach (district of Ebersberg). Despite, or perhaps precisely for this reason, she, at first, pursued a different career path. For a few years, she studied Social Work, but then dropped out after a few semesters and started working in the restaurant industry. Later on, she studied Tourism Management and graduated with a Master’s in Hospitality Management. After all, it already contains the word “hospitality”. When she was finished with her degree, she first decided to follow her first true passion, which is promoting environmental protection, by working as a management consultant in the field of climate protection for about 2 years. Nevertheless, she desired to build her own sustainable environmentally-friendly business. This vision became reality when she unlocked the door to her Klinglwirt in Munich-Haidhausen on August 26, 2011.
From the very beginning, friends and family supported the Klinglwirt. Sonja’s best friend Maria Rossbauer was one of her strongest supporters during this phase and even wrote a book about the turbulent period they experienced. It is called “3 Bier auf die 4” and is available for purchase at Klinglwirt. Other supporters are Sonja’s parents, her brother and her husband Geert Koninx, nicknamed “Cem”, who jointly runs Klinglwirt with Sonja. Ratheeswaran Sinnathurai, born in Sri Lanka, is the chef of the tavern and cooks the best roast pork in the city. He is assisted by another Sri Lankan national named Sinniah Srignanamohan. Anna Theisen completed her training in Sonja’s business and is now responsible for organising events at the tavern. Anna’s partner and some of her friends also help out occasionally, and the family keeps on growing…