TRYSIL (Dagbladet): Owner and operator of Trysil’s largest après ski resort, Tommy Åsheim at Restaurant Laaven, shakes his head several times during Minister of Health Bent Høie’s press conference on Tuesday night.
– With a bar stop, a two-meter rule and maybe not guests from Oslo and Viken, yes, then it’s just a matter of closing down for the whole of Easter. No one can operate under such conditions. The government was to shut down everything and ensure a proper compensation scheme for an industry that bleeds. No, this is just sad, says the experienced restaurateur, with 25 years of continuous operation at Laaven.
Dagbladet follows the press conference in an empty bar at Laaven, a restaurant that takes nearly 3,500 guests a day on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Eve on a normal Easter.
– With the one-meter rule, we had managed about 350 lunch guests a day. We could have had après ski with a one-meter rule due to the risk of infection.
– We just have to close
– And now with a two-meter rule and a bar stop?
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– My immediate reaction is that we just have to close. The authorities should have done that and taken the bill until the vaccines arrive. This is just nonsense. The phone does not stand still, I have to call around to colleagues tonight, and the whole industry takes a discussion on Wednesday. Now there are a lot of restaurateurs who are having a hard time, says Åsheim.
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On a normal Easter, the last in 2019, Åsheim and Laaven had 45 people at work on the busiest days. With the restrictions before Tuesday’s nail in the coffin, it was estimated 12 at work. Both Laaven and neighbor Barbacoa will have staff meetings on Wednesday morning about what they do at Easter.
Åsheim is clear on what he thinks it will be for Laaven’s part.
– Right now tonight I see no other solution than to close. No players in the nightlife industry in winter places can make it work with such conditions.
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So far this winter, there has been a 90 percent decline in turnover at Laaven compared to the normal year 2019.
– It amounts to NOK 19 million in turnover losses so far. And now the winter season is over, says Åsheim (45).
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– How do you assess the position of the nightlife industry in the rest of the country?
– It is very difficult and sad for everyone in the industry. I think it’s nice that there have been no more bankruptcies. People have received deferred tax, VAT and employer from the state, which should have 8 percent on top, as I understand it. Here are dark numbers waiting just around the corner, says Åsheim.
Vaccine and border opening
He estimates that about 70 percent of the turnover in a normal year comes with guests from Oslo and Viken. This year it has been around 90-95 percent because the borders from other countries are closed.
– What is the most important thing for the nightlife industry in Trysil to get started again next winter?
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– For the entire industry, it will be crucial with vaccines and that the borders are opened. And for our part here at Laaven, it is absolutely crucial to get the one-meter rule removed. It is après ski we live off, says Åsheim.
– The last thing that is taken away
And quickly adds: – I fear that the one-meter rule is the last thing that is taken away.
Then he says: – There are many who struggle, and who do not get through this. I’m not sorry. I have worked hard and been lucky with a popular place.
– For everyone who runs the season, the compensation schemes turn out very poorly. We who run only the season, must take all the expenses and divide by 12. Here we run five months, and receive zero compensation for seven months. And we are required by law to spread the expense over 12 months.
– The last normal Easter, there have been 60,000 Easter tourists in Trysil. How many are coming this Easter?
– There will be a drastic decline, no matter what the number is in the end. I hear from hotel and restaurant colleagues that cancellations are coming in. It started several days ago when the government encouraged everyone to stay at home and stay away from public places, including hotels. And now this is coming to the fore, sums up the restaurant owner.
