Breda catering entrepreneurs are furious. Already so affected by the corona measures, they received another blow in the face on Tuesday evening with the announcement of the test event 538 Orange Day. While the catering industry remains closed, 10,000 visitors are allowed to party on the Chasséveld on Saturday 24 April. “The resistance is bizarre. The anger crept out of my phone.”
Johan de Vos, as vice-chairman of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) and manager of Boerke Verschuuren, probably the most famous catering boss in the entire city, does not bother. “The entire road map is a shit story. The risk in the open air is nil, you plan a few test events in the Netherlands where thousands of people come and keep the catering industry closed due to transport movements. I don’t know in which world you live, but then you shouldn’t be surprised if the hospitality industry really says in a harsh way: ‘Hey, fuck you’.”
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“My phone exploded after the press conference. I’ve never seen that before. The resistance is bizarre and the anger among colleagues crept out of my phone. The fact that this event can take place at a stone’s throw from the catering industry, which is the only sector that is not allowed to do anything at all, is very stinging. It feels like a knife in your back that already contains fifteen, but this is one that could well be too long for the hospitality industry. ”
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Yannis Papadopoulos, owner of several restaurants in Breda, is equally bitter. “I have no words for it. As a mayor, I wouldn’t want to have this event in my city while the hospitality industry is closed. Why don’t they try out the terraces? ”
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De Vos wants to talk to the organization of the event. “About how we can make something out of it together without leaving the city, and especially the catering entrepreneurs, in the lurch.” Papadopoulos: “Real action has to be taken. It’s going that way, I feel like it and those sounds are already circulating, to be honest. You keep putting money into it every month, but at some point that has to stop. ”
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