Quality & Service Based on Passion and Tradition – This principle has been our recipe for success for over100 years. What once started as a small family run business called Café Riese in Cologne has, over the years, developed into a popular venue with more than 100 employees.
In 1901 Rudolf Riese laid the foundation for today´s business. He founded the ‘Wilhelm Esser Nachfolge GmbH, Conditorei’ which, in the early years, was located in Hohe Straße 53. Upon its opening Rudolf Riese expanded the overall selection, which initially was limited to cookies, cakes and high quality coffee, by adding cold meals. Ten years later he served his specialties at a larger venue: Schildergasse 103. It is here that the well-established Café Riese continues to be located to this day. After the Second World War Rudolf Riese´s son and successor Fritz Riese had to offer his specialties in a small rental apartment – the café Riese venue had been completely destroyed by bombing. Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before he could move back to the café’s original location in the famous Schildergasse.
In the 1960s Hubert Zorn and his wife Elisabeth continued to run the exquisite cake shop. They lived and worked with their four children in Schildergasse 103 and, based on their fresh ideas, established the café as a quality and service oriented culinary venue in Cologne. This is when, in addition to the cake shop, the chocolate praline manufacturing and the café with cold meals, a full restaurant menu was added which served traditional Cologne home cooking style for the entire family . This was accompanied by a wide range of different kinds of bread.