The hospitality industry in the theater has a special position. It may only be opened if there is an activity or performance in the theatre. In the summer months there are hardly any, so the catering industry is also almost closed. “Entrepreneurial risk,” says Knorren. “Then the foundation must ensure that it has extra fat on its bones for the summer period.”
“The hospitality industry has performed well all the years,” says alderman Henk ten Hulscher in 2018 to the council about the foundation’s establishment. “But if that foundation receives negative marks, the foundation must solve the problem itself. Only we do have a problem as the owner of Ogterop. Then we no longer have a restaurant facility there, with the result that there will probably be fewer visitors. I will go there I don’t assume the problem will arise, but I can’t prove that.”
The problem appears to be occurring now. The theater puts the ball in the hands of the municipality for the solution. And that’s not the first time. Last year, as much as 60,000 euros went from the municipality to the catering industry, for exactly the same reason. The city council didn’t care about that at the time. “That was a completely different scenario than now,” responds Knorren. “Then it was about the consequences of corona and that is why we did not ask any further questions last year.”
During the earlier corona years, there was compensation from the central government. The foundation is investigating possibilities to turn the worrying financial situation around.
The fact that the municipality has to invest in Ogterop’s catering industry for the second year in a row goes too far for all parties in the council. Hence the proposal from CDA, ChristenUnie and PvdA last night. It is time for the foundation itself to shut up, is the opinion of the council. Until the last moment, the alderman tries to change the council’s mind and asks that the proposal be withdrawn. The parties are not sensitive to it. Only SP and GroenLinks think the consequences are too serious to go along with the proposal.
The parties initially did not know that the money was intended to pay salaries. “That argument only came to the table at the very last moment,” Knorren reacts in surprise. “Suddenly we were confronted with that fact and that the consequence is that four people lose their jobs. We would have liked it if we knew that earlier. Would the outcome have been different? We will never know.”
Whether it is actually no longer possible to drink a cup of coffee or a glass of beer in Ogterop after the summer is not yet clear. The municipality and Ogterop are still discussing the possibilities. It is expected that within a few weeks there will be more clarity about the fate of the hospitality industry and its employees in the theater.