EsS-Bahn

EsS-Bahn (stylized DIE ESS-BAHN) is a German food-service brand operated by the Wöllhaf Group, a Stuttgart-based hospitality and retail company founded by Claus Wöllhaf in 1983. The brand is built around a single, strongly localized product: currywurst, the sliced sausage in curry sauce that is one of Germany's most popular street foods. EsS-Bahn positions itself as serving 'Berlins abgefahrenste Currywurst' — Berlin's most off-the-wall currywurst — and its outlets are notable for their unusual architecture: historic S-Bahn electric multiple units of the legendary 'Stadtbahn' class from the 1920s, converted into snack restaurants with seating for around 30 guests plus take-away and outdoor areas. The concept originated at the former Berlin Tegel Airport, where the EsS-Bahn became a cult fixture for travellers. It was also present for ten years at Stuttgart Airport. From June 2015 until its closure, guests at Cologne Bonn Airport were served in an indoor EsS-Bahn fitted out with original railcar parts. After a period away, the brand returned in spring 2022 at the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), this time in the form of a snack trailer directly in front of Terminal 2, in the public outdoor area at 12529 Schönefeld. EsS-Bahn is one of several brands in the Wöllhaf portfolio, which also includes KIEZ & FRIENDS, STÄNDIGE VERTRETUNG, BERLINER KAFFEERÖSTEREI, BÄCKEREI-CAFÈ DREISSIG, GOLDGAUL, LITTLE ROOSTER, WOK COWBOYS, VILLAGGIO, RED BARON, GREENWIND and PICK. The parent group describes itself as one of Germany's leading service providers at transport locations — airports, railway stations and shopping centres — and operates restaurant and retail brands that serve millions of travellers and visitors each year. Wöllhaf was founded in 1983 through a management buy-out and is owner-managed, with its operations particularly established in the metropolises of Berlin and Frankfurt. The EsS-Bahn brand therefore combines a classic Berlin food icon with a distinctive railway heritage aesthetic, and it functions as a compact, high-traffic food-and-beverage concept tailored to airport locations. Its menu centres on currywurst with a range of curry sauces intended to suit different tastes, presented in what the company describes as the highest quality and fully authentic form.

EsS-Bahn is a brand of the Wöllhaf Group, a German hospitality and retail company founded in 1983 by Claus Wöllhaf through a management buy-out. Wöllhaf began operations on 1 December 1983 at Stuttgart Airport, running the gastronomy in the airport's terminal building, and grew into one of Germany's leading providers of transport-hub catering and retail. Over the decades the group developed and operated branded restaurant and retail concepts at airports, railway stations and shopping centres, with a particularly strong presence in Berlin and Frankfurt. The EsS-Bahn concept takes its name and its physical form from Berlin's S-Bahn. Historic electric multiple units of the legendary 'Stadtbahn' class from the 1920s were largely restored to their original condition and converted into snack restaurants, each with a dining room of around 30 seats plus classic take-away and outdoor areas. The brand's signature dish is currywurst — Germany's most popular dish, according to the company — marketed as 'Berlins abgefahrenste Currywurst'. It is offered with a range of curry sauces for different tastes, which the company describes as being of the highest quality and fully authentic. The first well-known EsS-Bahn location was at the former Berlin Tegel Airport, where it became a cult attraction. The concept was also operated for ten years at Stuttgart Airport. From June 2015 until its closure, an indoor EsS-Bahn built with original railcar parts served guests at Cologne Bonn Airport. After that location ended, the brand returned in spring 2022 at the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), where it operates as a snack trailer directly in front of Terminal 2, in the public outdoor area at 12529 Schönefeld. The brand thus continues the Wöllhaf Group's strategy of running distinctive, brand-led food and retail concepts at high-traffic transport locations.

• EsS-Bahn operates at the former Berlin Tegel Airport, becoming a cult fixture.

• EsS-Bahn is present for ten years at Stuttgart Airport.

• From June 2015 until its closure, an indoor EsS-Bahn built with original railcar parts serves guests at Cologne Bonn Airport.

• In spring 2022, EsS-Bahn returns at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) as a snack trailer in front of Terminal 2.

A cult Berlin currywurst snack brand with a railway-heritage theme, located at German airports and aimed at travellers.

• Currywurst

  The brand's signature dish, offered with a range of curry sauces for different tastes.

1. 1DIE ESS-BAHN: Wöllhaf-Gruppewoellhaf.eu
2. 2Über uns: Wöllhaf-Gruppewoellhaf.eu
3. 3Historie: Wöllhaf-Gruppewoellhaf.eu
4. 4Das Unternehmen: Wöllhaf-Gruppewoellhaf.eu
5. 5EsS-Bahnwikidata.org