The crown pandemic, skyrocketing inflation and severe staff shortages. According to the Amsterdam Hospitality Association, this is a very worrying cocktail for the future of the industry in the city. But not everyone sees it so bleak, according to entrepreneur Tijn Verstappen, Amsterdamers will always continue to eat out, even in the toughest economic times. Only the customer is more critical, he says. So it is to eat or be eaten as a restaurant entrepreneur, in other words survival of the fittest.
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After two years of the crown, the Amsterdammers were only too happy to eat out again last year, according to Q2 and Q3 data. However, Koninklijke Horeca Nederland’s Amsterdam department is worried about the future.
“We also experience that consumer confidence in Amsterdam is waning. The host is becoming more and more critical. Not everyone is hit equally hard by inflation, but the restaurant industry is still seen as a service that you can cut back first when spending the budget decreases. We also look at how it will develop in the future if the repair of purchasing power for consumers is disappointing, “a spokesperson said.
“The quality of the food must be good, the service must be good and the atmosphere must be good”
Despite the crisis, Tijn Verstappen will soon open two new cases. “I think the Amsterdammers will always eat out, but they are picky, so everything has to be okay. The food has to be good, the service has to be good, the look has to be good.”
With the arrival of these things, Verstappen’s counter will soon be 12 o’clock. His secret? “I put a lot of love into a case.” This way he travels around town and countryside for perfect interiors. The hospitality staff brings the entrepreneur from abroad. “I went to dinner with my partner in Madrid for our new Spanish restaurant. We found a chef there who is willing to come and cook for us in Amsterdam. I just got it. It’s not very special, but you dedicate a lot to it. time and energy. I think that’s what the customer notices with us. “
Hard work
But not all entrepreneurs will be able to join the battle for the critical customer. According to KHN Amsterdam, some companies have been on the alert for some time.
“The effects of two years of krona, high tax debts, huge cost increases resulting in skyrocketing inflation, large staff shortages, mean that the restaurant sector is still under pressure. Even in Amsterdam. More and more entrepreneurs are calculating this with the margins At the moment there is no point in continuing on the same level. We see that many companies are for sale and change owners, many entrepreneurs start new businesses or change their concepts, “a spokesperson said.
Catering broker Lukas Arends also sees many changes of the guard. Even if the interest in starting a restaurant business seems to be decreasing. “We have fewer views, but the stakeholders out there have better quality and are more focused on catering acquisitions. ”
How come? Due to the crown, banks are less willing to finance restaurant projects. Plus, there’s less safety for employers due to labor shortages, so people with no experience are less likely to embark on a restaurant adventure, Arends says. According to him, this is not a bad development. “It separates the fortune-seekers from the more serious entrepreneurs. This ensures that the restaurant industry gets better quality, people stop less quickly and more stability in the market.”
Can’t you start anything in this time without experience? “Fortune seekers can make an effort, but it will be less. They mostly end up in a lighter restaurant. When the man or woman who knows how to cook so well at home, he starts a pastry shop. You need less money for this, but you still often find that they find a hard job and consider stopping after 2/3 years. “
“The Amsterdammer ultimately decides what works and what doesn’t”
But will all matters soon be in the hands of the greats? “This is possible, but it is always the case,” says Arends. Verstappen says that it does not depend on him, but on the market: “I understand where you want to go, that there will be a kind of monopoly from the established order, which I do not include myself, but yes, the market determines.”
Arends also points out that the Amsterdammers themselves ultimately determine which concept works and which doesn’t. “Fortunately, you see that there are always enough concepts to coexist in a city,” says Arends.
And even if you as an entrepreneur are in demand now, even then it might be different tomorrow. “Maybe people will get tired of my concepts in ten years, I hope not, of course, but you don’t know. Maybe I should invent something new or develop the concepts further. You just have to stay sharp.”
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