New café in Schildau: From the old department store to an oasis of enjoyment!

New café in Schildau: From the old department store to an oasis of enjoyment!

An exciting revitalization is imminent in the small town of Schildau: Vlad Cristian, a 35-year-old entrepreneur, has acquired the former HO department store on Schildauer Markt in order to open a new café with a bar and a sales facility for homemade rolls and bread. The opening is planned for spring 2026, and anticipation among locals is already great. As torgauerzeitung.de reports, Cristian has been living in Germany with his family since 2018, originally from Romania, and is very interested in stimulating the local economy with his concept.

The ground floor of the department store will in future provide space for the café and bar, while the bakery will be accessible via Bahnhofstrasse. Vlad Cristian has been working intensively on the renovation in recent months and estimates that 80 percent of the work on the building has been completed. The department store had an eventful history in the GDR, initially selling textiles and haberdashery, but later also being home to a hardware store and a mix of textiles as well as fruit and vegetable offerings. Most recently, the building was unused due to high operating costs and a lack of staff after master baker Uwe Rentzsch ran a sales branch until 2020.

A look at the economic situation

Cristian still sees opportunities in a difficult business climate. Numerous day-trippers come to Schildau to hike and to see the people of Schildau. His wife will take care of the bakery and thus bring a personal touch to the new café. Meeting tourists in particular could help the new venture do good business. Despite challenges, the economic conditions in Schildau are promising, as aktuelle-gewerbepreise.de shows.

The current development on the commercial real estate market in Schildau can be summarized as follows: Rents for office space are between 6 and 8 euros per square meter, while retail space costs between 8 and 12 euros per square meter. Purchase prices vary depending on the type of property; Retail space costs between 900 and 1,200 euros per square meter. These stable prices and the increasing demand for commercial space make Schildau an attractive location for new companies.

Perspectives for the future

Looking ahead, the market for commercial real estate in Schildau is showing positive trends. The proximity to larger cities such as Leipzig and Dresden is attracting more and more smaller companies, and the demand for warehouse space is increasing due to e-commerce and digitalization. This could also result in future price increases, as the information from miete-aktuell.de suggests.

The combination of a well-thought-out business model and the positive location conditions could mean a golden future for Cristian and his café. It remains exciting to see how the old department store transforms into the heart of Schildau and enriches the community.