Hospitality sector sets its own ultimatum: we’re simply opening again on January 17
Hospitality entrepreneurs in Brabant have had enough of their forced closure. They no longer want to wait and see what the Outbreak Management Team and the government decide; they have decided for themselves that they will reopen on January 17. ‘It’s either open for business or go bankrupt.’
The plans of the Brabant hospitality entrepreneurs are outlined in a draft press release that inadvertently ended up with Omroep Brabant. The plan shows how high the pressure on hospitality entrepreneurs has become, says Johan de Vos, vice-chairman of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) Breda branch, to trade magazine Misset Horeca. ‘It is true that a large group of entrepreneurs is willing to open their doors on January 17. It’s a choice between opening or bankruptcy.’
Busy hardware stores, empty restaurants
The hospitality entrepreneurs feel that the government is overlooking them. ‘We’ve been struggling for nine months now,’ Robert van den Brand tells AD. Van den Brand is KHN chairman in Meierijstad, a municipality in North Brabant. ‘People are queuing at hardware stores, garden centers and the Efteling, while we will soon have been closed for half a year. The government comes up with schemes that look substantial but offer very little; we’re being fobbed off.’ The press release states: ‘Many entrepreneurs are extremely frustrated that they are not given any form of perspective by the government. They have not been given any for months. Time and again, they have to find out through unofficial channels what might happen, or what the new measures are.’
Open for Christmas? No
In short: the hospitality sector has had enough, and that desperation only grew when the Outbreak Management Team advised the government not to ease the measures in December either. A setback for restaurant owners, who had asked for clarity, so they would at least know whether they could reopen for Christmas. KHN is certain that such an opening could be safe and responsible, but they have been unable to convince the government of that.
Civil disobedience
Nevertheless, Koninklijke Horeca Nederland is asking its members not to ‘go against the rules’. That is a statement by Robèr Willemsen, the national chairman of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland. He knows about the press release from the entrepreneurs in the south of the country, but tells Misset Horeca that KHN will never call for civil disobedience.
