What started in 2019 with a small stand at a flea market has now developed into one of the most popular bars in Gießen: Nawid Madjidian, Michael Delle and Kai Derkow and their "Ananas Express" have experienced rapid development, and the three of them are now giving away theirs self-created drinks from Wednesdays to Saturdays in a bar on Bahnhofstrasse, which is a wine shop during the day and turns into a bar in the evening.

"We believe that our store-in-store concept is a concept for the future," says Madjidian.

It's a waste of resources if the store is empty half the time and there are enough people who could "play" it.

Johanna Schwanitz

volunteer

  • Follow I follow

Delle and Derkow had already worked as bartenders before the joint project and gained experience in the process.

Then Madjidian, who lived with Delle in a flat share, also discovered the joy of mixing cocktails, and finally the Giessen flat share flea market, which runs through the whole city once a year, was the starting signal for the "Ananas Express".

"People snatched the drinks out of our hands," reports Madjidian.

They would have asked themselves whether they could not do more with it and started serving their drinks at events and events - until they moved into the wine shop in summer 2021.

Unusual creations

The three founders followed their credo right from the start: do as much as possible yourself.

"Our syrups are made in-house and simply taste better," says Madjidian.

This is very time-consuming, but the guests should now notice "what love and what quality the ingredients have".

The three of them buy fruit and herbs regionally and seasonally whenever possible, and they also adapt their menu to the seasons.

The fact that Derkow is also a hobby gardener also helps them when creating new cocktail variations.

"Nevertheless, we always got the best drinks out of it when all three of us tinkered with it," says Madjidian.

The names of the dinks in the "Ananas Express" are as unusual as many of the creations themselves. The guests are served a modified version of the classic "Horse's Neck" here as "Pferdenacken", and a new edition of the "Porn Star Martini" is also included here topped with passion fruit foam and advertised as a "porn bar".

The “Goat”, a new creation by the three bartenders with goat cheese, is also surprisingly fresh and balanced.

A drink always includes “storytelling”, says Delle.

In addition, it is not just about what the drink looks like, how it smells and how it tastes, the atmosphere in the bar is also important.

"Maybe the drink shouldn't be the focus at all, but should be a good accompaniment for an evening when you're just having a good time."

"Ananas Express", Bahnhofstraße 18, Giessen, telephone 01 76/76 13 80 43, Internet www.ananasexpress353.com.

Open Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm to 1am.