Aida (sometimes spelled Aïda, with a
diaeresis) is a franchise chain of 34
espresso bar
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
and
pastry
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" sugges ...
shops (''Café-
Konditorei'') based in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, with franchise outlets globally. They are also known to be the largest and most exclusive privately owned confectionery producer and coffee shop brand in Europe with 130 confectioners producing 3 tons of cakes and pastries daily.
In 2006, Aida's coffee was awarded the Golden Coffee Bean by
Gault-Millau
Gault et Millau is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965.
Points system
Gault Millau rates on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given below 10 poin ...
.
History
Ten ''Aida'' shops had been established before the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, but they were all destroyed during the
air raids on Vienna. After the war, Felix Prousek (1918–2003) took over the management and started rebuilding and expanding. His innovative approach to
coffeehouse culture resulted in an alternative to the sheer ''
Gemütlichkeit'' of the traditional
Viennese café
The Viennese coffee house (german: das Wiener Kaffeehaus, bar, as Weana Kafeehaus) is a typical institution of Vienna that played an important part in shaping Viennese culture.
Since October 2011 the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as ...
. Prousek was also one of the first to introduce
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
-style
espresso machine
An espresso machine brews coffee by forcing pressurized water near boiling point through a "puck" of ground coffee and a filter in order to produce a thick, concentrated coffee called espresso. The first machine for making espresso was built in ...
s in Austria.
However, for decades now, ''Aida'' has been resistant to change of any kind. This is first and foremost true of their
interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...
, very similar for all shops and reminiscent of the 1950s-1970s. Their trademark colours are
pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
and
dark brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model use ...
. Most of the furniture is made of
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
, and there is mostly seating without
upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something.
''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English w ...
.
''Aida'' has also been reluctant to adapt to changing tastes and to compete with new arrivals in Vienna such as
Starbucks, for example by refusing to add
flavoured coffee to their list of beverages. The specialties are Coffee, Cakes, Pastry, Tea, Merchandise, Snacks, Ice Cream and Gifts.
In most shops a quick coffee while standing up at the
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
is possible. However, the majority of customers prefer to sit down and be served at their table. ''Aida'' was staffed exclusively by women (in pink uniforms), but since 2008 also men started working.
Felix Prousek's son, Michael, who had collaborated with his father since the 1980s, is now ''Aida''
's
managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. Their headquarters and central bakery are located in
Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Je ...
. As his son Dominik Prousek Aida's Executive Director saw the possibility to franchise the chain globally he did so by selling master franchises in 2010 to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Canada. The Prousek family aims to make AIDA the world's largest Viennese pastry chain globalizing traditional Viennese coffeehouse culture, music and flair.
Reviews
The
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
has seen a proliferation of tourist guides describing Viennese coffeehouse culture. Some of these reports also comment on ''Aida'', for example in the following way:
and in a similar vein:
See also
*
List of restaurants in Vienna
This is a list of notable restaurants in Vienna, Austria.
Restaurants in Vienna
* Altmann & Kühne – confiserie and chocolaterie in Vienna established in 1928
* Demel – famous pastry shop and chocolaterie established in 1786 in Vienna
* ...
References
Further reading
* Anna Peyrer-Heimstätt: "Aida—Café-Konditorei. Erscheinungsbild und Image", unpublished thesis (Vienna:
University of Applied Arts, 1989).
* Clarissa Stadler/Wolfgang Thaler: ''Aida: Mit reiner Butter'' (Vienna: Verlag Christian Brandstätter, 1995) (). The title of the book, which means "
ade
Ade, Adé, or ADE may refer to:
Aeronautics
*Ada Air's ICAO code
* Aden International Airport's IATA code
*Aeronautical Development Establishment, a laboratory of the DRDO in India
Medical
* Adverse Drug Event
*Antibody-dependent enhancement
* A ...
With Pure
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
", refers to an old advertising slogan of Aida's, dating back to the days when customers were less health-conscious than they are today.
* Christopher Wurmdobler: ''Kaffeehäuser in Wien. Ein Führer durch eine Wiener Institution. Klassiker, moderne Cafés, Konditoreien, Coffeeshops'' (Vienna: Falter Verlag, 2005) ().
External links
aida.at
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aida (cafe)
Coffeehouses and cafés in Vienna