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Garbsen – The Greek restaurant HELENA in the planet ring indoor pool in Garbsen is to move out of the indoor pool building at the end of the year. The reason is the renovation of the indoor pool, which should begin next year. We reported
There is great anger and sadness among friends and regulars, and a petition has even been launched to keep the restaurant in the indoor pool going. One of the criticisms in the petition was an impersonal resignation from the city of Garbsen to the owner Savas Simeonidis, allegedly without prior notice and by post. It is also criticized that the restaurant is not included in the architect’s plans in the future.
GCN spoke to Ms. Monika Probst about the HELENA case as part of the mayoral candidate interview. Ms. Probst to GCN: “I know the case very well and of course it’s a shame that the restaurant has to close, but it was clear to the owner that the contract would be terminated when the renovation work on the indoor pool began. When Mr. Simeonidis wanted to extend his contract on a long-term basis, we personally explained to him that only one annual contract with a six-month notice period can be concluded. For this purpose, Mr. Simeonidis was invited to the town hall – he also accepted this invitation and signed the new contract, ”said Probst. Alternatives were also discussed here.
“In order to receive the necessary public funds for the renovation, we had to quickly come up with a preliminary draft that describes the new indoor swimming pool. Here we decided on the architect who also planned the leisure and family swimming pool in Berenbostel. In fact, no restoration is planned in this draft because, among other things, the latest provisions and building regulations no longer permit a restoration in this form – as it was 50 years ago. Accessibility and fire protection are also a big issue here, ”Probst continues.
GCN managing director Bianca Schulze knows the restaurant from the beginning. “At that time it was a real highlight to go out to eat in the indoor pool in the then German restaurant (that was around 50 years ago), especially in the evening when the water was illuminated. During the day the restaurant wasn’t open at all. The combination of bathroom and restaurant was already rare back then and today you can hardly find it anymore, says Schulze.
The city of Garbsen and the owner of the HELENA also spoke to Mr. Stoffregen from the city’s economic development agency about new premises and considered where the restaurant in Garbsen could possibly be located. However, the search for new premises seems to be difficult. It would of course be good if the popular restaurant could stay nearby, but there are no rooms available that meet all the requirements to open a restaurant, apart from the enormous costs.
Probst continues: “We have also promised Mr. Simeonidis that he doesn’t have to be out on the stroke of December 31, 2021. If he has booked celebrations for New Year’s Eve and New Year, these can of course also take place. If the move-out takes place some time later (weeks or, for example, 2 months), that’s okay too. If there is new space where we can help, we will be happy to do that too, concluded Probst.
At the weekend, the CDU Garbsen announced that they would like to work together with mayoral candidate Tegtmeier for the maintenance of the restaurant.
“In a personal conversation with Björn Tegtmeier, Savvas Simeonidis made it clear that he was willing to forego the premises on the ground floor as well as the bowling alley and another multi-purpose room on the upper floor if he wanted it
Restaurant could continue to operate. This would make the city large
Get the premises back, ”reports Councilor Poulios. For the
this week, Mayor Christian Grahl has a short term
Conversation invited.
GCN/bs
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