Demel

Demel is a famous pastry shop and chocolaterie established in 1786 in Vienna, Austria. The company bears the title of a Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court up to today.LocationThe building is located in the central Innere Stadt district on Kohlmarkt 14 near Hofburg Palace. The interior was designed by Portois and Fix decorators in a Neo-baroque style. The white-aproned waitresses — the Demelinerinnen — usually address the customers in a traditional honorific third person style, "Haben schon gewählt?" or "Wollen etwas zu sich nehmen, wenn belieben?". The cabaret artist Helmut Qualtinger extoled their timeless quality in his song Die Demelinerinnen.Demel temporarily had one additional location in Salzburg, which was closed in March 2012. The company formerly had a small cafe at The Plaza's Retail Collection in New York City, but this location has since closed (as of March 2010). The corporate website indicates they are continuing to look for a new location to operate in New York.HistoryThe k.k. Hofzuckerbäckerei pastry shop was founded on Michaelerplatz by Ludwig Dehne, a confectioner from Württemberg. Upon his early death in 1799, the business was continued by his widow for their minor son August Dehne. In 1813 she purchased the house on Michaelerplatz 14. August Dehne inherited the company in 1832 and successfully managed the business, however, as his son pursued an academic career, he sold the company to his journeyman Christoph Demel in 1857.