Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) is not happy with the extra measures that the municipality of Amsterdam is taking to reduce the number of infections in the capital. From now on, catering entrepreneurs will only be warned once and then immediately close the business. KHN thinks that is going too far.
“We see that catering entrepreneurs have great difficulty in applying the rules”, says Evelien Doornhegge, regional manager at KHN in Amsterdam. “We are not the police, we are the hospitality industry. Entrepreneurs only have to turn their backs once and things can go wrong.”
She is afraid that the measure could mean the end for catering businesses. If they break the rules for the second time, things must close for up to four weeks. That is a long period for entrepreneurs who are already struggling, says Doornhegge. “This is impractical and unreasonable, it can mean bankruptcy for companies.” She also thinks it is unfair because the rules are being broken in more places in the city, not just in the catering industry.
If the current measures do not help enough, the municipality can also decide to limit the closing times of the catering industry to midnight. Doornhegge is also concerned about this. “This can have major adverse consequences for us,” she says.
Entrepreneurs will miss out on part of their turnover. “And the question is whether it contributes. If we have to close early, many customers will be on the street at the same time.” That also causes problems, thinks Doornhegge.
–
