Open against the trend in a restaurant. While renowned restaurants such as Le Garage in Amsterdam (founded by TV chef Joop Braakhekke) or restaurant Vroenhout in Roosendaal collapsed and the hospitality industry prepares for a wave of bankruptcy, Angelo Kremmydas started his own restaurant, Gitane, in Amsterdam a month and a half ago. And with success: on a rainy Sunday he has had about 160 lunch guests in the afternoon and the evening turnover has yet to start.
While elsewhere in the country the row of bankruptcies in the industry is growing. The hospitality industry seemed to be little affected by the corona pandemic in 2021 and 2022: last year 134 businesses went bankrupt, compared to 254 in 2019, the year before the lockdowns. But in the first quarter of 2023, 66 catering companies went bankrupt, almost three times as many as in the first quarter last year.
It is not the fault of the customers, they do want to go out for a night or visit a café. Consumer confidence in the economy is low, but cutbacks are mainly being made in the supermarket, on clothing or on the residential boulevard. The debit card turnover has lagged behind that in recent months, ING concludes on the basis of its internal PIN transaction data. But in the service sector, and especially the hospitality industry, an increase was seen. Despite the price increases in cafes and restaurants, more was spent in the first quarter of this year than in the same period last year. Eating out or a beer around the corner became more expensive, but for now the public takes it for granted.
Catching up
It is also not surprising that consumers continue to spend, says Katinka Jongkind, sector economist at ING Research. “That is catching up after the corona lockdowns, when people were not allowed to do what they wanted. Moreover, there were those energy surcharges last year and there was more room to spend due to the wage increases.”
The hospitality industry alone cannot meet that demand. Six out of ten catering entrepreneurs are affected by the cost increases of food and drink and personnel, Statistics Netherlands calculated. Beer, coffee, meat, oil and butter increased in costs by about 18 percent at the beginning of this year. Restaurateurs and pub owners increased their prices by an average of 10 percent in response. But not everyone. “Only one in three entrepreneurs can pass on the higher costs,” says Jongkind. “That is much less than in other sectors. This is especially difficult for cafes and restaurants. Because if they do, the guests will stay away.”
If you take good care of your people, they will keep coming back
Angelo Kremmydas founder of new restaurant Gitane
In addition to that price spiral, according to Jongkind, repaying the corona support and the tax debt of a total of 1.5 billion euros is also affecting many catering companies. “With business closures or bankruptcies as a result.”
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According to Braakhekke’s successor Erwin Walthaus, Le Garage succumbed to the corona debts after 33 years, which were added to that. “That corona support was wonderful,” said Walthaus last week The parole. “But at some point we had to pay that back.” Restaurant Vroenhout in Roosendaal closed due to personnel problems: “After three months of searching, no one has been found, I cannot be in the kitchen and in the service,” said Master Chef Nico van Beekveld last month in the AD.
So Angelo Kremmydas knew what he started a month and a half ago in Amsterdam’s Jan Pieter Heijestraat. “The market is tricky”, he says himself. “I take risks. But if you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.” With “his dream”, his own restaurant, he could choose between Paris or Amsterdam. It became Amsterdam. Raised in Greece with a Greek father and Dutch mother, he already worked there in the kitchen of Brasserie Maris Piper and Ron Blaauw’s restaurant Nacarat.
Restaurant Gypsy
photo: Olivier Middendorp Restaurant Gitane in Amsterdam.
Photo Olivier Middendorp Restaurant Gitane in Amsterdam.
Photos Olivier Middendorp
“That staff shortage is a given, according to Kremmydas. “That was also the case in Greece and London when I worked there. But if you take good care of your people, they will keep coming back. I have a file of 40 colleagues. And quite a few Greek guys in the kitchen. It’s all informal, with a phone call from Greece asking if I have work for someone. Last weekend it was difficult, then they all wanted to go Lowlands. But we still managed to fill the schedules.”
Crossed card
It is also not the case that only many catering establishments go bankrupt, says Edwin Vlek of FNV Horecabond. “The sector as a whole is still growing. There is, however, a catch-up of companies that are going bankrupt, partly also companies that were already doing poorly, but remained afloat thanks to the corona support.” The FNV is informed in case of catering bankruptcies involving more than 20 employees. “What we are seeing now is mainly smaller companies that are not making it. Which after a restart are often taken over by more wealthy entrepreneurs. And what happens behind the scenes of those bankruptcies is not always clear, according to Vlek. “The number of bankruptcies on their own request seems to be growing. In that case, the UWV often takes over the personnel costs. Sometimes it smacks of something other than just debt. We sometimes get signals from members that the card has been pushed through. That the trustee was already walking around on the shop floor before the bankruptcy was filed.”
For Kremmydas none of that is the case. He took over the neighborhood pub from an owner who wanted to retire. “With no debts to pay. I have now worked 45 days in a row since the opening. Yesterday was my first day off. Because of a wedding.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper on August 14, 2023.
2023-08-13 18:43:21
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