Demoted diner
This Burger King was abandoned for years but – as if its suffering wasn’t enough – it was refurbished and resurrected as a Burger King again. Below is the original post from 2019 for archival purposes.
Burger King no more
It’s the slowest fast food restaurant in the world. You’d be waiting a whopping great time for your burger – longer, even, than Abandoned Berlin readers have been waiting for this post…
The Burger King on Prenzlauer Promenade is so slow that most of its customers have given up and gone home. A few grey-haired skeletons persist in the queue but even they have come to accept that they won’t be getting their whoppers, chicken burgers or even their extra long wait chili cheese burgers any time soon.
Not only have all the staff locked the doors and gone home (screaming), but the service has become so slack that workers from rival chain Tommys Burgers hijacked the building and attempted to take over. Then they abandoned it, too. It must be haunted. The McDonald’s down the road is laughing its sizable ass off at all the shenanigans.
Judging from the comments on this Burger King’s Facebook page, it seems the service was never any good, even when the place was open.
“Burger King on the Prenzlauer Promenade is the worst shithole. For the umpteenth time the staff (always the same ones) were overwhelmed by their work. Three customers and nix works there anymore,” Candy Kähne wrote.
“The MC Drive is so rarely in service that we drove off three times without placing an order. I’ll be giving out at the office on Monday!”
Oh dear. I wouldn’t have liked to be in that office that Monday.
Nadja Hoffmann wasn’t best pleased with the place either.
“Toilet paper was all gone, soap all gone, and the only service had a massive queue. And your man in the drive in left me waiting five minutes just to take the order even though there was no car in front of me. The shop would make you puke,” Nadja wrote. “Always check the bag, by the way. Twice now, something was missing or there was the wrong thing in it.”
Christian Tutschek was left disappointed by the underwhelming selection burgers available.
“Unfortunately they didn’t have the burgers that they’re promoting so much on radio and TV. Otherwise they’re always quite fast and friendly here.”
Not what we’ve been hearing Christian!
It seems the last person to check in to the Burger King on the Prenzlauer Promenade before it mysteriously closed was Annette Fosgerau Johannesen on May 7, 2016, when she posted a photo of her buddies pretending to enjoy their diseased-looking food.
They might very well have been its last customers. Anyone visiting recently will have the good fortune to find it closed.
But fear not, gentle reader! There are still plenty of non-abandoned places in Berlin where you can stuff your face with burgers till they’re coming out of your ears.
Our intrepid friends at Fotostraße have subjected themselves to a one-year burger-eating challenge, mingling with the hipsters to eat at a different burger joint every single week this year.
Back at the abandoned Burger King, a McDonald’s soda carton was languishing gleefully among the weeds in the overgrown entrance. But it too was abandoned. They’ll all be abandoned some day.
LOCATION AND ACCESS (HOW TO FIND GUIDE)
What: Abandoned Burger King.
Where: Prenzlauer Promenade 69, 13089 Berlin.
How to get there: You could take your life in your hands and simply cycle, but be very careful as there’s no cycle lane on Prenzlauer Promenade and the cars will go whizzing past. The Prenzlauer Promenade/Kissingenstraße bus stop is just across the road if you fancy taking a bus, and the nearest S-Bahnhof is Pankow-Heinersdorf. The latter is handy if you feel like visiting the Güterbahnhof, too. Here it is on a map.
Getting in: Well, there’s no getting in unfortunately unless you smash a window, and I certainly would not encourage you to do that. You can see all you need to see by peering in though the grubby glass.
When to go: Any time really. There are no opening or closing times.
Difficulty rating: 1/10.
Who to bring: Bring your vegetarian friends so they can enjoy a good gloat.
What to bring: Food. You won’t be getting any here, fast or not.
Dangers Cars. But they’re a danger everywhere. Starvation. And as always, watch out for nosy neighbors.
Filed 10/7/2019