How guests want to save their favorite Ammersbek café

Ammersbek.
The customers of “Dein Café” in Ammersbek are probably unique in Stormarn. When Markus Klingenberg, owner of the small shop not far from the Hoisbüttel subway station, wrote on his Facebook page two weeks ago that he could hardly survive the second Corona lockdown this year financially, the first offers of help reached him after a few minutes. In the meantime, guests have already collected a good 8,000 euros via a donation platform – so that the café with ice cream parlor on Georg-Sasse-Straße survives and the people in the district can keep their meeting point.

Regular customers quickly pick up the guitar

Regular Dominik Bathe wrote a song about the relief effort. “The ice cream man who melts the heart, that’s what I would call him. / A warm place for humanity, this is where neighbors get to know each other,” it says. The amateur guitarist not only published the song on his YouTube channel, but also sang it at the recent community representatives ‘meeting in the residents’ questionnaire. “I want to give the café support and draw the attention of as many people as possible to the situation,” he says.

Bathe also sings a lot in his work with disabled people and had planned to write a song every month for this year. During a conversation with his neighbor, the former equal opportunities commissioner Irmela Mäuser, the idea arose to musically ask local politicians for support. He received applause from all parties.

Dream of own business threatened to burst

A donation campaign provides very specific help. “When I told my two children about it, they went straight to their piggy banks to contribute something,” says Dominik Bathe. Because for his boys it is clear: “Markus has the best ice cream far and wide.”

“Your café” boss Klingenberg can be seen in each of his sentences, how the wave of help goes to his heart. Seven and a half years ago he and his girlfriend fulfilled their dream of running their own business far away from the big coffee house chains. “Over time we have become a meeting place for young and old,” he says. Primary school children get an ice cream on their way home, seniors arrange to meet for a latte macchiato.

Guests became friends and employees became partners

Markus Klingenberg showed stamina right from the start. “Because the operators had changed frequently before, it took a year and a half before we were really accepted and there was money left over,” he says. The connections developed all the more cordially. “Guests became friends, employees became partners,” says the owner, who himself supports other associations such as the youth fire brigade with donations and membership fees.

Then came “the year of chaos 2020”. In mid-March, the government announced the first corona lockdown. “Back then there were new regulations every day, which were often associated with additional costs,” says Klingenberg. At first only wrapped things were allowed to be sold, shortly afterwards that no longer had to be the case. “Now there is packaging material lying around here for the next few years.”

Corona required conversion and a hygiene concept

Because customers bought a lot of vouchers at the time, he was above the ceiling for state aid. The operating costs for rent, electricity and devices continued to run, plus investments were made in the Corona-compliant renovation and a hygiene concept. On the other hand, customers stayed away. Regular guests were not allowed to leave the nearby nursing home for months, while others spent weeks at home out of caution. And loans are hard to come by for small businesses.

“We couldn’t build up any reserves this summer,” says Klingenberg, who has two small children with his partner. With the 15,000 euros, the crowdfunding goal, the café will get through the winter. “This great shop, which is run with so much heart, is simply worth supporting,” writes one donor. For others it is an “institution in Ammersbek”. Musician Dominik Bathe puts it in his song as follows: “Let’s stick together and find many donors. / ‘Your café’, it shouldn’t disappear from Ammersbek. / Markus hold on, we are behind you. and we find them. “

Hear and help

The video with the song “Rettet Dein Café” by Dominik Bathe is on the Internet at the address
youtu.be/n-Eg0_6aFnQ
to see. The donation campaign organized by customer Andre Ewert can be accessed via the homepage www.dein-cafe.net. The money is collected through the GoFundMe platform

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