Nightlife is in any case faced with a difficult choice. With the demonstrative action De Nacht Staat Op, club owners announced last Wednesday that they would open their doors again from Saturday in protest.
The campaign received acclaim from all corners of the country; all clubs in Amsterdam were sold out in no time and club owners elsewhere in the country also indicated that they would welcome the public again this weekend.
Club owner Eelko Anceaux previously told De Telegraaf that he found the reopening, which goes against the current corona measures, ‘not legal, but legitimate’. It has now been leaked that the night catering industry will not be allowed to open completely, like many other sectors, but that the doors must close at one o’clock, the action will not be canceled but continued.
“Yes, it will continue”, says Peter de Kroon of Chicago Social Club and one of the initiators with conviction. “We have absolutely nothing to do with this.” At that time, a lot of nightlife is only just getting started, he knows.
Fines for love
As far as enforcement is concerned, things initially seemed rosy for the night catering industry. On Wednesday, the police unions called on their members not to act against clubs and discos that violate the corona rules. So reportedly, club owners did not have to be afraid of sanctions.
The situation turned 180 degrees a day later. The Security Council announced on Thursday that, contrary to previous reports, enforcement will be carried out. “We assume that action will be taken against large-scale violations of rules,” said Hubert Bruls, chairman of the Security Council.
Operators of night catering who still open their doors on Saturday take any fines for granted. Joost Aartsen, owner of the House of Someone Andes, Chez Miné and Sissi’s Expo-Resto accepts a possible fine. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” says the entrepreneur. “We will open, that’s for sure. If we get a fine, we’ll frame it.”
On the social media channels of De Nacht Staat Op, it is shared on Thursday that the festivities can start on Saturday from 9 p.m.