CZECH REPUBLIC: A unique restaurant that caters to model train lovers: a model train runs through the restaurant delivering the orders and even the bill, customers leave their money in the train carriage which drives itself back to the till

Record ID: 511727

  • Title: CZECH REPUBLIC: A unique restaurant that caters to model train lovers: a model train runs through the restaurant delivering the orders and even the bill, customers leave their money in the train carriage which drives itself back to the till
  • Date: 20th December 2011
  • Summary: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (DECEMBER 16, 2011) (REUTERS) BAR OF RESTAURANT VYTOPNA IN PRAGUE VARIOUS OF BAR STAFF DRAWING BEER, LOADING MUGS ONTO MODEL TRAIN AND ENTERING DESTINATION ON COMPUTER SCREEN BAR STAFF WHISTLING FOR DEPARTURE OF TRAIN TRAIN WITH BEER DEPARTING COMPUTER SHOWING TRAIN'S MOVEMENT TRAIN DRIVING THROUGH RESTAURANT TRAIN ARRIVING TO TABLE / PEOPLE TAKING GLASSES / CUSTOMERS DRINKING ANOTHER TRAIN WITH DRINK DRIVING THROUGH RESTAURANT (CAMERA ON TRAIN) (SOUNDBITE) (German) MICHAEL FROM THURINGIA, GERMANY, SAYING: "I like it very much, I have never seen something like this and it is very interesting. I like the train connections very much." TRAIN PASSING TABLE ANOTHER TRAIN WITH DRINKS DRIVING TOWARDS TABLE TRAIN GOING THROUGH TUNNEL AND APPROACHING TABLE (CAMERA ON TRAIN) CUSTOMERS LIFTING BEER GLASSES OFF TRAIN AND DRINK LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) PENSIONER MILAN FROM PRAGUE, SAYING: "The main thing is that we don't have to wait until some waiter tends to us. The train is also coming exactly on time." TRAIN LEAVING TABLE TRAIN GOING THROUGH TUNNEL, CARRYING EMPTY MUGS, BOTTLES (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) BAR STAFF MARTIN POTESIL SAYING: "It is an advantage for us, because we don't have to serve the drinks round the tables. It saves time as well. It is also a big attraction." VARIOUS OF TRAIN BRINGING DRINKS TO TABLE BAR STAFF TYPING ORDER INTO COMPUTER TRAIN PASSING VARIOUS OF TRAINS DRIVING THROUGH RESTAURANT (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) RESTAURANT MANAGER AND EXECUTIVE CHEF TOMAS CECAVA, SAYING: "The trains are adjusted to make different sounds. The bar staff knows exactly how fast the trains can be and regulate their speed for instance before a curve or when they leave the table. All the stops are set up in advance. So it is quite easy to operate them." TRAIN RETURNING TO BAR RESTAURANT CASHIER AT BAR TRAIN LEAVING BAR TRAIN LEAVING TABLE PEOPLE IN RESTAURANT
  • Embargoed: 4th January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Czech Republic, Czech Republic
  • Country: Czech Republic
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA62XDIWCSI0YLHLTJKZWH87SY
  • Story Text: A popular restaurant in Prague caters not only to gourmets but also to a train lovers.
    The place which is called "Vytopna" which means "Depot", has a unique attraction apart from its high-quality local food - a 400-meter-long model railway which runs around the restaurant bypassing every table.
    The system, developed by restaurant owners who are passionately interested in railways, is complicated and hi-tech. The bar staff work as traffic controllers and manages to combine pouring and mixing drinks with directing trains. The railway delivery is a great hit with the customers, many of whom come especially to see it.
    "I like it very much," says Michael from Germany. "I have never seen something like this and it is very interesting. I like the train connections very much."
    And a short waiting time is an added bonus for many. "The main thing is that we don't have to wait until some waiter tends to us." says Milan. And being German trains they are punctual: "The train is also coming exactly on time," Milan laughs.
    The bar staff is also happy - they don't have to run around all day carrying drinks.
    "It is an advantage for us, because we don't have to serve the drinks round the tables. It saves time as well," says waiter Martin Potesil.
    The tiny model trains go through a countryside with stations, tunnels, bridges, towns and forests.
    "The trains are adjusted to make different sounds," says Tomas Cecava, the restaurant manager. "The bar staff knows exactly how fast the trains can be and regulate their speed for instance before a curve or when they leave the table. All the stops are set up in advance. So it is quite easy to operate them."
    The Vytopna restaurant in Prague has opened a year ago and is now a hit with both tourists and locals who mostly come to see the trains.
    The idea originally came to the model train lover Petr Fridrich in Brno and that's where the first restaurant of this kind was opened. Then came a restaurant in Orlova, in Moravia and last year Vytopno in Prague. There are plans to open more train-themed restaurants in the Czech Republic and abroad. Although, the equipment and the building of the model tracks does not come cheap - the cost of the Prague model was 14,5 millions Czech Crowns (EUR 580.000).
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