Daytime catering predominates too strongly in the street scene of the Groningen city centre. The growth of coffee and eateries, where people settle down between shopping, is a thorn in the side of the municipality.
Increasingly, empty retail spaces in the city center are being filled by daytime restaurants. It stands in the way of a healthy mix of catering establishments and retail, believe coalition parties GroenLinks, SP, PvdA and Party for the Animals. Small entrepreneurs looking for space in the city center would lose out to the popular daytime catering industry if rents rose.
According to the coalition parties, the municipality of Groningen must combat the proliferation of daytime restaurants with additional regulations in zoning and environmental plans. On Wednesday they called on the mayor and aldermen to call a halt to the advancing daytime catering industry. A motion to this effect was supported by a majority in the council.
‘Don’t sit still’
According to PvdA councilor Rico Tjepkema Tjepkema, small shopkeepers are being driven out. ,, We also hear that from officials who keep an eye on the store stock. Then you have to act and not sit still.” As far as the SP is concerned, local small and medium-sized businesses deserve every support. “We’re done with all those national chains and businesses that sell you half a liter of watered down oat milk.”
Chairman Eric Bos of the Groningen City Club (GCC) thinks fear of the proliferation of daytime catering is exaggerated. “This is getting quite hyped. Daytime catering adds something to many streets. Quite a few catering companies take an original approach. Look at the Zwanestraat and the Folkingestraat, which are the nicest shopping streets in Groningen.”
‘Don’t surrender to the whims of the market’
Tjepkema is not convinced. “We want to see what our city center should look like. It’s hard to settle here. We must not surrender to the whims of the free market. A landlord can raise the price if he knows that a large chain wants to settle there.
Bos believes that the municipality should take the composition of the population into account. “With all our students, we have the youngest population in Groningen. They are charmed by catering. Then you have to be very careful about limiting your choice. Leave this to the dynamics of the market and look at the times you live in.”
Investment attracts big capital
According to the Party for the North, the municipality is in a situation that it has created itself. “Hundreds of millions have been invested in the city center. That’s where big capital comes in. That is an economic law. And then you get hip international coffee shops.”
GCC argues that the coalition parties are reacting rather opportunistically. “It’s great that you’re worried about the disappearance of small entrepreneurs with authentic businesses. Look at Eindhoven, where the variety of shops in the center is examined very precisely. This is done in close consultation with the brokerage, which is looking for what fits.”
Hand in your own bosom
Alderman Carine Bloemhoff (PvdA) believes that Groningen residents should also take a critical look at their own consumer behaviour. “We see a steady decline of small shops. If we want to keep it, we shouldn’t go to a store and then crawl behind the computer to see if it can be cheaper online.”
Bloemhoff talks about a municipal development company that buys up properties to get a grip on the supply in the city centre. “We don’t have retailers on a string. The market is moving. But if we have the choice between vacancy and daytime catering, we opt for the latter.”