In this bakery, grandmas are the stars

By Aileen Jacobson, CNN
6 minute read
Updated 11:41 AM EDT, Thu August 29, 2019
<strong>An inviting café:</strong> Vollpension in Vienna hires omas, or grandmothers, to bake delicious cakes using their own family recipes. (A few opas, or grandfathers, are also on staff.) It's a successful experiment in "social good" or "social entrepreneurship."
An inviting café: Vollpension in Vienna hires omas, or grandmothers, to bake delicious cakes using their own family recipes. (A few opas, or grandfathers, are also on staff.) It's a successful experiment in "social good" or "social entrepreneurship."
Mark Glassner/Vollpension
<strong>A full pension:</strong> Vollpension is filled with comfy second-hand furniture and kitschy decorations. Cakes bake all day long in the four neon-rimmed ovens (the only modern touch) behind the counter. The café's name refers to the full pension that retirees receive and to a hotel stay that includes meals.
A full pension: Vollpension is filled with comfy second-hand furniture and kitschy decorations. Cakes bake all day long in the four neon-rimmed ovens (the only modern touch) behind the counter. The café's name refers to the full pension that retirees receive and to a hotel stay that includes meals.
Mark Glassner/Vollpension
<strong>Game nights and other fun:</strong> These activities allow the older staff to "share their knowledge and skills" with each other and with younger people, said Hannah Lux, the café's 31-year-old managing partner and one of its three owners. The café aims to provide social interaction and income to the staffers, who might otherwise feel isolated.
Game nights and other fun: These activities allow the older staff to "share their knowledge and skills" with each other and with younger people, said Hannah Lux, the café's 31-year-old managing partner and one of its three owners. The café aims to provide social interaction and income to the staffers, who might otherwise feel isolated.
Vollpension
<strong>Get in line:</strong> Although "Kaffee und Kuchen," for which Vienna is renowned, is the focus of Vollpension, it has expanded to a full menu that includes many breakfast items and limited lunch or dinner choices. It has become so popular that weekends require reservations and lines to get in sometimes form.
Get in line: Although "Kaffee und Kuchen," for which Vienna is renowned, is the focus of Vollpension, it has expanded to a full menu that includes many breakfast items and limited lunch or dinner choices. It has become so popular that weekends require reservations and lines to get in sometimes form.
Julia Geier/Vollpension
<strong>More than a slice:</strong> Cake, which is ordered at the counter and then brought to the table, sometimes comes with a history of the recipe and possibly also of the baker.
More than a slice: Cake, which is ordered at the counter and then brought to the table, sometimes comes with a history of the recipe and possibly also of the baker.
Stefan Joham/Vollpension
<strong>A second café:</strong> A wide variety of items are available for breakfast, served until 2 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. on weekends. The café is at Schleifmühlgasse 16, near a hostel and an outdoor market. A second location, even more centrally located, is scheduled to open in October.
A second café: A wide variety of items are available for breakfast, served until 2 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. on weekends. The café is at Schleifmühlgasse 16, near a hostel and an outdoor market. A second location, even more centrally located, is scheduled to open in October.
Julia Geier/Vollpension