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 serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargile ...

and

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

shops (''Café-

Konditorei A is a business that typically offers a wide variety of Pastry, pastries and typically also serves as a café#In Europe, café. (plural) are found in many countries including but not limited to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmar ...

'') based in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, 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 Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with confectioners producing up to 3 tons of cakes and pastries daily. In 2006, Aida's coffee was awarded the Golden Coffee Bean by Gault-Millau.

History

Ten ''Aida'' shops had been established before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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. 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

-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. Multiple machine designs have been created to produ ...

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. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

, very similar for all shops and reminiscent of the 1950s-1970s. Their trademark colours are

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. 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, p ...

and

dark brown Dark Brown may refer to: * Dark brown * Dark Brown (1957 film), an Australian television film * Dark Brown (1963 film), another version of the above {{dab ...

. Most of the furniture is made of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

, 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 wor ...

. ''Aida'' has also been reluctant to adapt to changing tastes and to compete with new arrivals in Vienna such as

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

, 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 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 chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. Their headquarters and central bakery are located in Floridsdorf. 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 network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

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:

References

External links

aida.at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aida (cafe) Coffeehouses and cafés in Vienna

History

Reviews

See also

References

Further reading

External links