Oberweis got a makeover in town

After six weeks of work, the Oberweis store and tasting room located at 16 Grand-Rue fully opened their doors at the beginning of the month with some new items on the menu. “Before, architecture took over. From now on, we are going back to basics: we are closer to the customers, we offer a friendlier, more refined place and an even more optimized presentation of products”, explains Jeff OberweisCEO of the family business.

The latter does not feel like sharing the amount invested and prefers to emphasize the novelties of this point of sale which – with those of its Cloche d’Or HQ and the City Concorde shopping center – constitutes the top three of the brand’s most dynamic locations.

A single counter and a large fresco

Now there is only one large counter behind which employees guide customers during their purchases. Just like at the Cloche d’Or and the Schifflange point of salean adapted lighting system highlights the products, while the purity of the space on the ground floor allows the installation of tables to accommodate around twenty guests, in addition to the tasting room located upstairs.

On the wall, a ten-meter fresco depicts the Grand-Rue in 1903, a work of which Jeff Oberweis is particularly proud since it was painted in perspective on a coated panel by Akrom Sultan. On the ground, the mosaics posed by Delphine Messmer have been restored. The previous renovation dates back to 2015 at this outlet.

Currently, Oberweis has eight Luxembourg addresses, a number expected to be maintained in the immediate future, but without cutting its boss’s appetite for novelty. “We have been present at Luxembourg Station for 40 years and I am happy to see that our contract has been renewed. Our store will be revamped there in 2023,” he announced.

The project to build a production workshop in Munsbach – announced in 2017 – is progressing with a new manufacturing space which will replace that of the Cloche d’Or as well as a new shop. “The PAP is now in order, the authorizations to start the works are progressing and we hope to be able to start them in 2024 with the prospect of integrating the site in 2026”, suggests Jeff Oberweis.

We started integrating the 3rd generation with Louis and Bob.

Jeff Oberweis, CEO, Oberweis

He embodies with his brother Tom and his wife Léa, the second generation of an entrepreneurial adventure launched by their parents in 1964: “We started to integrate the 3rd generation with Louis and Bob to perpetuate this growth”.

The Schifflange store is successful

Oberweis employs 334 people in Luxembourg. Touched last year by July floods, the pastry chef-caterer’s workshop was able to reopen after ten days of closure. This year, the boss faces another challenge: soaring energy costs. “Energy is really a challenge because it pushes us to think about our consumption”, comments the brother of the President of the Chamber of Trades. However, he estimates that the increase in the energy bill should be limited to 3% of its turnover, “a high amount, but on which I can act by actions and measures”.

Next year, Oberweis expects an 8.5% growth in wage costs, mainly due to to the three indexation tranches provided for. The brand opened a point of sale last year within the shopping complex Op Herbett in Schifflange, whose flagship is the DIY brand Bâtiself. “We went to this Schifflange complex a bit out of curiosity, but we are very happy with the performance of the store. The clientele is there and the Oberweis brand attracts people”, adds the CEO.