7 innovative gastronomies come to the METRO Campus, led by a restaurant from star chef Thomas Bühner
28 September 2023
In the coming years, a new urban quarter for around 4,000 residents will be built on the current METRO Campus. METRO is also developing its own directly adjacent buildings and is using the opportunity to attract new gastronomic concepts and offer innovative restaurateurs a platform. In the coming years, 7 new gastronomic concepts will be created that reflect the diversity of the industry: from top-class fine cuisine to trend-setting concepts in the fast casual segment. Among other things, this serves to raise the profile of Düsseldorf as a culinary destination - a goal that METRO is pursuing together with other partners in the state capital.
The gastronomic number 1 at the new METRO Campus has already been determined. Thomas Bühner, one of the most internationally experienced German star chefs, will open a new fine dining restaurant in Düsseldorf Flingern. From 2006 to 2018, Thomas Bühner was managing director and head chef of the renowned restaurant la vie in Osnabrück, which was awarded three Michelin stars from 2021 until its closure. In April 2023, Thomas Bühner opened the restaurant la vie by Thomas Bühner in Taipei. Now he is coming to Düsseldorf. The opening is planned for the 1st quarter of 2025.
From left to right: Christian Nezmah, Thomas Bühner, Kerstin Rapp-Schwan, Oberbürgermeister Dr Stephan Keller, Martin Behle
Thomas Bühner explains: "I had been looking for an exciting project in Germany for some time. ONE METRO CAMPUS is now the ideal opportunity for me to implement my ideas and experience. The location particularly appeals to me because it's a bit back to the roots for me. I lived and worked in Düsseldorf from 1983 to 1984 and learned a lot here. The concept for my restaurant is not yet complete, but I can reveal that much: It will be a fine dining concept, in which I will also revive some la vie classics together with a chef who is employed here locally - paired with many new dishes that have emerged during my travels around the globe in recent years. I am very much looking forward to delighting guests from Düsseldorf and around the world with my cuisine very soon."
Thomas Bühner's decision is a strong signal. Despite its already multi-faceted gastronomy landscape, Düsseldorf still offers a lot of potential and a good environment for the establishment of internationally renowned culinary arts. The food wholesaler METRO sees itself as a partner and enabler through its close connections with the gastronomy customers.
Martin Behle, Chief HoReCa Officer of METRO AG: "METRO will not become the operator itself. Rather, we invite restaurateurs and investors to participate in our gastronomic platform with their own concepts. We will support them in planning and implementation with concept advice and professional kitchen equipment, among other things, and then hope to receive important feedback from the restaurateurs on our products and services, e.g. on the quality of our private labels, our digital applications or our delivery capability".
Mayor of Düsseldorf Dr Stephan Keller: "The restaurant of international star chef Thomas Bühner will certainly be a highlight of ONE METRO CAMPUS. I am sure that his restaurant, as well as the great diversity and innovation that the new gastronomy landscape here on the campus as a whole is striving for, will enrich our gastronomy landscape in Düsseldorf and give the whole district new impulses."
The official application phase for the first spaces starts now: METRO PROPERTIES has launched a website (www.metro-campus.de) where interested restaurateurs can submit their applications. A team of experts from Tellerrand Consulting and METRO will evaluate the concepts and talk to the respective restaurateurs.
"We have an exciting conceptual phase behind us. Creating an entire gastronomic landscape and then developing the individual spaces to match was a great task. Lively gastronomy plays a key role in linking HoReCa wholesale, offices and the new quarter. The result is a diverse mix of uses on the METRO Campus that improves people's quality of life in interaction with the neighbourhood. We are now looking forward to the next project phase and are curious to see who will actually realise which concept here on the campus," says Kerstin Rapp-Schwan, Düsseldorf restaurateur and partner of Tellerrand Consulting.
Martin Behle adds: "Close cooperation with our customers from the gastronomy sector is particularly important for us. In order to be close to them with our core business, we will also open a new METRO store here at the METRO Campus at the end of 2026 that is tailored to this customer group: 3,000 qm with ultra-fresh products such as vegetables, fish and meat as well as selected non-food products. The current store will move to Ulmenstraße. This means that Düsseldorf will have two METRO stores in future, not just one as before. This is also a sign of our commitment to Düsseldorf."
The decision by Rolling Pin and METRO to hold the Rolling Pin Convention - an annual gastronomy congress with around 10,000 trade visitors - for the first time in Düsseldorf at the Böhler Werke from 2024 onwards also contributes to the enrichment of the gastronomy location. Important local players have supported and driven this development, above all Mayor Dr Stephan Keller, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the industry association Dehoga and the municipal company Düsseldorf Marketing and its Düsseldorf Convention unit.
METRO is a leading international food wholesaler which specialises in serving the needs of hotels, restaurants, and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent merchants (Traders). Around the world, METRO has approx. 17 million customers who benefit from the wholesale company’s unique multichannel mix: customers can purchase their goods in one of the large stores in their area as well as by delivery (Food Service Distribution, FSD) – all digitally supported and connected. In parallel, METRO MARKETS is being developed as an international online marketplace for the needs of professional customers which has been growing and expanding continuously since 2019. Acting sustainably is one of the company principles of METRO which has been listed in various sustainability indices and rankings, including MSCI, Sustainalytics and CDP. METRO operates in more than 30 countries and employs over 93,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2021/22, METRO generated sales of €29.8 billion. More information can be found at MPULSE.de, our online magazine.
