Catering owners protest with pie and chips against food…

Those who passed the Groenplaats in Antwerp around 2 pm on Saturday were treated to free fries, pieces of cake and drinks by the catering operators. They wanted to playfully express their displeasure at the increasing itinerant trade on the square.

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A stall that sells ice creams just in front of the terraces of catering businesses that also have ice creams on the menu. That stall is an eyesore for the owners and they are not alone. ‘I run a cocktail bar and last week there was a young guy selling cava from his cargo bike just across from my business,’ says Armando Rocchi of Bar Basil. Vincent Schietekat of sandwich shop Panos has a stall right outside that sells smoutebollen, churros and beignets. “I even had to sacrifice part of my terrace.”

Both entrepreneurs, who are respectively vice-chairman and chairman of the trade association vzw Groenplaats, denounce the lack of consultation. ‘We have nothing against itinerant trade. We are all entrepreneurs trying to make money in these difficult times, but it would have been nice if the city had consulted us first about the type of stalls that would settle there,’ it sounds.

Nico Volckeryck of the Neutral Syndicate for the Self-Employed (NSZ) understands the frustrations of the catering operators. ‘It is not the first time that we have received complaints from entrepreneurs about the arbitrary planting of stalls. We have the impression that the administration of the city, which is responsible for the permits, does not investigate what effect these stalls have on the rest of the catering industry or the shops, and we regret that. We would like to ask the administration to first look at what is already on offer in the area and to adjust the ambulant trade accordingly. For example, there used to be a nut stall and a flower stall on Groenplaats, which was a perfect addition to the catering businesses.’

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