Italian restaurants protest: we’re staying open!
Hospitality entrepreneurs in Italy remained open as an act of protest on Friday. Civil disobedience, because the corona measures have left them on the brink. More than 30,000 restaurants welcomed guests, even though they technically were not allowed to. ‘We no longer have any money to pay the bills,’ says the spokesperson.
In Italy, the corona rules are slightly different from those in the Netherlands. In most of Italy, restaurants are allowed to remain open until 6 p.m. But even that is not enough to survive financially, say the protesting entrepreneurs, and the support they receive from the government is also insufficient.
Regular customers
So on Friday, the restaurants did not lock their doors at six o’clock; they remained open. Regular customers had been called upon in advance to come and eat. The police handed out fines in a few places, but the entrepreneurs are not too concerned about that. They have no intention of paying and are preparing a lawsuit over the unjustified closure of the hospitality industry.
Bills
They are not corona deniers, says the spokesperson for the protesting restaurants. It is a matter of necessity, he says: ‘We simply want to get back to work; many of our colleagues no longer even have the money to pay the bills.’
Also read:
- How corona turned me into a booze cruise
- In a corona cooking slump? Don’t worry, we have your back!
- Inside story: hospitality entrepreneur on what it’s like to run a restaurant during corona
Source: AD.nl, Misset Horeca
