Something is stirring in Munich’s vegan gastronomy scene: Vegan pizza by Dr. Drooly, moved to Adlzreiterstraße at the beginning of the year, a new vegan seven-course menu by Joshua Leise in the mural and now also vegan system gastronomy. Just a few weeks ago, the Austrian burger chain Swing Kitchen opened its first Munich branch in Maxvorstadt. The family-run Siggis from Munich is now following suit with a new café in Pasing.
In 2017, Sigrid Lutz, who gave her name, opened the first Siggis on Westenriederstrasse, followed three years later by the move to Buttermelcherstrasse. The Siggis Burger division was supposed to follow the dining concept there with vegan home cooking, but then Deutsche Bahn got in the way last year. With Siggis as a catering partner, the first Siggis café was set up in December at Freising station, one of 16 future stations nationwide where Deutsche Bahn is testing new services in terms of sustainability.
The second should have started in Pasing in mid-February, but this has now been delayed until mid-April due to craftsman and delivery bottlenecks. Nevertheless, Sigrid Lutz and her son Florian Högel, who is also managing director, are already risking a preliminary test phase. Fortunately, there are now terms such as “soft opening”, “pop-up” or “concept store” for such transitional solutions, which Lutz and Högel are happy to use on Wednesday when presenting the new premises.
The refrigerator, cake display case and coffee machine are still in a temporary position until the seating groups arrive. After that, five tables and a central sales counter will fill the small, glass-enclosed shop with a view of Landsberger Strasse. The green has already made its way – on the walls, in the form of plants and with the ingredients of the adjacent production kitchen, which from now on will serve as the new supply center for other Siggis locations.
The offer in the Pasinger Café will be the same as in Freisinger, the focus will be on croissants with different toppings and sweets, all vegan, of course. During the month-long soft opening, however, there will initially be wraps, as well as test runs for possible menu additions such as the vegan ice cream sandwich. For this purpose, the local Siggis partner, Fritz Mühlenbäckerei, has developed a vegan, brioche-like burger bread that is filled with different types of ice cream and fruit and can be supplemented with toppings of your choice after baking. Also new in the range are vegan cinnamon and blueberry buns from Risart. The Munich baking empire does not actually supply any partners, but Siggi’s proximity to the central Rischart bakery on Buttermelcherstrasse pays off here.
While the Pasinger Café is still in its infancy, Sigrid Lutz and Florian Högel are already making plans for the coming year. In April, the mobile food truck, with which Siggis initially denied festivals and weekly markets and which was last parked in front of the film school at Minna Thiel, will start the summer season. The first Siggis burger restaurant is scheduled to open in Munich this year, so that the three branches of dining, burger and café, each with at least one basic branch in Munich, can be expanded as a franchise to other cities, including outside of Bavaria.
Last but not least, the cooperation between Siggis and Deutsche Bahn will bear further fruit this year, reveals Lutz. The fact that Deutsche Bahn, for example, offers vegan currywurst in its board bistros and is exploring new territory with the 16 stations of the future is not just “greenwashing,” she says. “I do think that Deutsche Bahn is looking for long-term partners who think more vegan and sustainable than the current ones,” adds Florian. “It remains to be seen whether we will be then.”