Hospitality venues closing at 6 p.m.? Erm… does the ministry ever sit on a terrace itself?
Oh, how happy we are that the terraces are opening again! But hang on: at 6:00 p.m. we’ll be swept away, because the terraces will already be closing again. Isn’t that a slightly strange time—and practically quite impossible to enforce? Hospitality business owners, as well as police and enforcement officers, fear the worst.
According to Rutte, the restricted terrace opening hours were chosen to keep the risks within limits. ‘That rules out the bitterballen and the evening meal.’ Rutte does not think it makes sense for people to move to squares and parks after 6:00 p.m. Erm, pardon me, doesn’t make sense? Surely closing the terraces early is precisely what makes people continue their convivial drinks in the park? Quickly from the terrace to the supermarket for some snacks (hello croquette sandwich!), wine and specialty beer—doesn’t that sound much more plausible?
‘People will still come together and spread out. I think it’s very naïve for the government to think that people will go home then. It’s still just in time to get a crate of beer at the supermarket and go to the park,’ also thinks Dirk Beljaarts, director of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN).
Who is drinking at the ministry?
‘I can’t reason this out logically,’ says Hans Schoones, vice-chairman of the police union ANPV. ‘I understand that terraces can’t stay open until midnight, but where did the 6 o’clock come from? It cannot be reasoned out.’ Schoones: ‘It’s not just the opening hours. A maximum of fifty people are allowed on a terrace, all 1.5 metres apart, with a maximum of two people from two households at a table. If a testing requirement is also added, for an extra €7.50 and forty hours in advance, then I really don’t know how this can still be enforced. The decisions being made are so unpredictable that I think: who is drinking at the ministry?’
Hospitality business owners feel screwed over
Of course, there are business owners with huge terraces, and there are business owners who are happy that they can open again. But there is also a great deal of confusion and anger:
‘Isn’t the hospitality industry now being used to play police officer during the day? In good weather, people go to a park or the beach and there aren’t enough police to enforce the rules everywhere. So this is a cheap “solution”.’
‘Outrageous idea! When it rains, customers can’t go inside, supplies have to be thrown away & we business owners get to argue with our customers that they have to clear out again at 6:00 p.m.’
‘This really makes no sense… open from 12 to 6 p.m. Everyone knows: you make most of your turnover during drinks hour. So start clearing your terrace at 5 p.m., wait and see what weather conditions we get… Restaurants can do absolutely nothing, because you can forget about dinner. And responsibilities outside your terrace, on the street too. What a farce.’
‘When I watched the press conference, I genuinely thought: what am I actually watching? The government treats hospitality business owners like toddlers. Running a business from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. is hopeless and a recipe for chaos. And on top of that, a maximum of fifty people per terrace. It makes absolutely no sense.’
‘Well, you have to start somewhere. We may scale up from 28 April, but it’s happening in very small steps. In a way I’m happy about this reopening, but actually I mainly see it as symbolic. Of all the scenarios I had imagined beforehand, this is certainly not the best. A maximum of fifty people, and from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. on top of that.’
Not all terraces will open
It is also an illusion that all business owners will open their terraces. Some establishments will remain closed; for these business owners, it simply isn’t profitable—you have to incur costs and deploy staff again. They are waiting until evenings are possible too. And if you have a terrace on the shady side? Will anyone sit there at all? Around 70 percent of hospitality business owners with a terrace cannot operate profitably using only the outdoor space, according to research by hospitality trade publication Misset Horeca. A quarter of business owners will therefore keep their terraces closed after 28 April.
Logistical nightmare
The reopening of the hospitality industry is also a logistical nightmare. To supply eight thousand hospitality business owners with terraces in the Netherlands with beer, soft drinks and refreshments, Heineken is starting an enormous logistical operation with wholesaler Sligro on Wednesday morning to deliver beer and terrace furniture to them within a week. In short, reopening the terraces is a first step, but it’s not exactly enjoyable yet. Quite apart from the above, it is also a very bitter pill for hospitality business owners without a terrace:
‘This is no use whatsoever to us as a pub; our savings account is running dry, everything simply needs to open again’.
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Sources: Parool, Misset Horeca, Entree Magazine
