Let’s be honest it’s not just a love story for us. Our next release will hit every Berliner and everyone who’s set foot in the city right in the feels. Currywurst is tasty, that’s obvious, but the story behind it and what it represents really interests us. After you read this, your next bite will feel different.
The infamous currywurst is loved by us all as a night-time savior, a takeaway lunch or anytime really. Everyone has their favorite spot, but for us at MEAN BERLIN there’s one that stands above the rest. Bier’s Currywurst 195 sits on Ku’damm and has sold a strange combination of champagne and currywurst since 1965. How? Why?
Let’s get into it and why this inspired our newest T-shirt.
The story of the Currywurst
1949. In the ruins of post-war Berlin. A city divided. There is scarcity and poverty and people are looking for simple, filling meals that are also affordable. The British bring Worcestershire sauce and curry powder over to German kitchens, where people previously tended to stay away from spice. So, we know that currywurst is a symbol of post war divided Berlin’s revival and reconstruction.
On a September night in 1949, Herta Heuwer experiments with different ingredients in her tiny snack bar in Charlottenburg. She uses the curry powder from the brits, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, pairing it with the only sensible option, a sausage. Herta calls it ‘chillup’. Work that one out. By 1959, it was called currywurst and well on its way to greatness.
Branded as ‘Das steak den Kleine mannes’ in the 1950’s, it was a cheap and nutritious meal that everyone could afford. Now, the currywurst has achieved cult status. It has become a symbol of the ingenuity and pragmatism of post war Berlin. This year, the 35th anniversary of German Unity Day, currywurst’s story feels even more significant. Just as Germany came together in 1990, currywurst represents the spirit of a city that has always rebuilt and reunited. Today it is a symbol of unity and togetherness
It’s established itself in Berlin’s pop culture and has been immortalized in films, songs and literature as a part of history. The song ‘Currywurst’ by Herbert Gronemeyer celebrates the snack as a symbol of Berlin. You can’t look anywhere without seeing a currywurst advertisement or reference. Now we’re contributing to the pop culture with our T-shirt.
Currywurst x Champagne. What’s it all about?
When you think about Currywurst you don’t think about Campagne. But in Berlin these contrasts are normal. East and West. Ruins and Rebirth. It makes sense. At MEAN BERLIN, we love the uniqueness of this combination, Berlin’s spirit on a plate and in a glass.
No spot in Berlin did this better than Bier’s Currywurst 195 on Kurfürstendamm. The stand was opened when the Berlin wall still stood, in 1965 by Klaus-Peter Bier. He was a Berlin photojournalist who had an eye for style. So, he plated currywurst on porcelain plates, handed customers mental cutlery and paired it with champagne!
Bier’s vision worked. Aristocrats, politicians and celebrities stop by. The stand on Kudamm becomes a meeting point where everyone from film stars to your typical night owl in leather jackets could eat sausage and champagne together. Luxury cars are parked outside; important society figures stand with students. Bier loved to host, welcoming high-society regulars and figures he knew through his photojournalism.
Rolf Eden, a Berlin legend nightclub owner and actor, was a regular visitor and said ‘a currywurst is quick, makes you full and above all doesn’t make me fat’. Because I’m always on a diet’ Celebrities and politicians still visit today- Boris Becker, Heidi Klum and representatives in the Bundestag.
MEAN’S tribute to a Berlin Icon
We’re fascinated by the way a simple sausage with sauce has become such a symbol for post war Berlin and its recovery. It’s resilience on a plate.
The MEAN BERLIN crew recently visited Bier’s. We looked over the photos lining the walls, trying to picture the nights when aristocrats and actors all crowded around the counter we were at. Then of course, we had a currywurst in one hand, champagne in the other. We get the hype.
Stepping back onto Ku’damm, we knew there was no way we wouldn’t honor it. When we think about fashion, we think about storytelling, history and identity. That mix of history, attitude, and style from Bier’s felt too good not to turn into streetwear. That’s why our next release is a tribute to currywurst’s meaning, and to Bier’s role in cementing its legendary status. Berlin on a plate-and now, on a tee.
