Tuesday 18, July
Berlin spätis fight back against potential ban on outdoor seating
New York has bodegas; Athens has peripteros; Berlin has Spätis: every city is in some way defined by the everyday shops or convenience stores where residents can stop off and grab a few essential items. And Berlin has the added advantage that these everyday shops also serve as a meeting place, where people can sit outside on a summer’s evening and enjoy a cheap beer or two. But that might now be under threat, at least in one Berlin district.
Pankow wants to ban chairs and tables in front of Spätis, apparently due to complaints from residents about noise. Unsurprisingly, the main advocates for the ban are the CDU, who have also raised concerns about drunk customers relieving themselves in front of apartment buildings when there is no toilet available.
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The Spätis themselves are against it, however – and there are now plans in motion for the Berlin Späti association to sue the district of Pankow to prevent the ban, arguing that such a measure represents unfair treatment of them when compared to other similar trades.
