The restaurants’ Michelin stars disappeared with the devastating fire, and the pandemic situation paralyzed hotel operations, making the situation even more difficult due to the lack of guests and revenue. Due to the situation at the time, the decision was made to initially create a temporary solution for the restaurant operations. The “temporaire”, a temporary home for the two restaurants Schwarzwaldstube and Köhlerstube, was quickly built on the roof of the hotel garage. This allowed more than 100 employees to keep their jobs. Head chef Torsten Michel and his team at Schwarzwaldstube and head chef Florian Stolte and his team at Köhlerstube were able to regain their lost Michelin stars in 2021. The go-ahead for further construction work was given in summer 2020; while the size and layout were to be strongly reminiscent of the original building, the design was to be straightforward, minimalist and modern.
As part of the construction work, the former “Köhlerstube” became the “1789” restaurant – the name is a tribute to the year the hotel was founded and the place where its history began with a small tavern for charcoal burners and forest workers. The kitchen concept, which has been awarded one Michelin star and 17 Gault Millau points, has remained unchanged: The Asian-inspired menus are served by head chef Florian Stolte. In the new “Schatzhauser” restaurant, Swabian-Baden cuisine meets favorite dishes from around the world and fine steak cuts from the grill. The largest dining room with 60 seats is flooded with light and offers an impressive view of the Black Forest from its sun terrace. The new “Schwarzwaldstube” now once again offers its brigade around head chef Torsten Michel a stage for their haute cuisine, which has been awarded three Michelin stars. A fully glazed front wall provides a magnificent view of the forest opposite and the Tonbach valley.
The family employed around 50 companies from the region for the reconstruction. However, the hotelier family not only attached great importance to regionality when selecting the contractors, but also with regard to the building materials used. In this context, clay as a building material is the ideal choice, as it is sourced and processed regionally at ClayTec. Some of the craftsmen commissioned have been working for Traube Tonbach for several generations. Trust and reliability played a decisive role in the collaboration. Thomas Glück, from the painting and plastering company Lehmbau Glück, was also one of the craftsmen responsible for the clay work during the renovation phase. Lehmbau Glück is known and appreciated above all for its special rammed earth work. The exterior façade was decorated by Thomas Glück with two rammed earth elements, each approx. 40 m² in size. This eye-catcher on the exterior façade was created using ClayTec rammed earth in a natural color. High rammed earth walls are also the highlight of the elevators on the lower and upper floors of the interior. In the restaurant area, Lehmbau Glück used the “Blackforest style”, a creative technique specially developed by Lehmbau Glück. The clay adhesive and reinforcing mortar, the clay undercoat plaster with straw and the clay topcoat plaster coarse HELL with straw were used for this creative wall structure. The Finkbeiner family decided to use ecological clay building materials because of their environmentally friendly and sustainable properties. The pleasant and balanced indoor climate is also a big plus for the restaurant area. Clay building materials ensure stable temperature control and have been proven to bind dust and odors. Last but not least, the special and individual look of the clay walls is impressive. Overall, a modern yet cozy ambience has been created. The Traube Tonbach combines and presents a multitude of advantages of ecological clay building materials and underlines the diverse possibilities that the future-oriented material clay brings with it. For ClayTec, Traube Tonbach is a prime example of how naturalness and aesthetics can be brought into perfect harmony.
On April 8, 2022, after a construction period of around 18 months, the Finkbeiner family opened the newly built Traube Tonbach flagship hotel on schedule. The building with its three à la carte restaurants is now fully operational again and continues to delight guests with its unique gourmet cuisine, authentic architecture and wonderful atmosphere.
