Frankfurt: Because of the 2G rule – hosts in Frankfurt reap hatred and bad reviews
Restaurateurs in Frankfurt who only receive vaccines and genes are currently having to endure a lot. Hate comments are piling up, especially on the Internet.
Frankfurt – Since Thursday (16.09.2021) the guests of the cider bar “Ebbelwoi Hehl” have been greeted with a smile again. Not that you didn’t smile at her beforehand, but behind the mouth and nose protection it wasn’t that easy to see. Since local owner Günter Hehl introduced the 2G rule and thus only guests who have either been vaccinated or recovered are allowed in, there is no longer a mask and clearance requirement in the interior, and Hehl’s employee Josephine is beaming.
She, her colleagues, and her boss could stop laughing at this. The announcement of the 2G rule for the interior last week caused a real shitstorm on the Internet (many hateful comments): “Another store on my black list”, “I hope you go broke”. And worse. Our newspaper’s coverage of restaurants that are introducing 2G, such as Mainlust in Schwanheim, led to calls for boycotts and even slander. It never tasted good anyway, there is still the slightest – one wonders why the writer of these comments was a guest for 18 years, as he emphasizes, when it never tasted good.
Frankfurt: 2G rule in bars – hateful comments on the net
That leaves him indifferent, says Hehl. But he’s already thinking about it. He leaves the commenting on the comments to his waiter, who is more relaxed, according to Hehl, and more matter-of-fact. The waiter also takes a look and notices that some “commentators” who have announced that they will “never step into this restaurant again” live hundreds of kilometers away and probably never have been to “Ebbelwoi Hehl”. Hehl did not think that he would be attacked in such a way by individuals for 2G. You can say your opinion, but not like that.
Julius Wagner, managing director of the Hesse Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga), is appalled by what is happening to those who choose 2G. “You need a thick skin,” he says. Innkeepers and hoteliers exchange ideas in Whatsapp groups and strengthen their backs. “We also give tips on how to deal with it,” says Wagner. And makes it clear: “2G is a business decision and not an emotional one.” With 2G, the hosts increase their capacity, can seat more guests and increase the prospect of sales.
Frankfurt: restaurateurs rely on the 2G rule – fear of a slump in sales in winter
That is also what Günter Hehl is about. He has to make sales in the fall and winter. He has not yet made up for the losses caused by the month-long closure. He fears a drop in sales as soon as it gets cold. “We’ll see if people will go in then,” he says. At the moment it is full outside, in his beer garden, but hardly anyone is sitting inside – even in bad weather. He hopes that 2G will make people more likely to go in because they feel more secure.
His friend Udo Schmidt is happy “that Günter can do it that way”. He himself goes in with 2G with a better feeling, says Schmidt, managing director of fitness studios and boxing clubs in Frankfurt and Offenbach. He cannot implement 2G for his clientele: “Then 30 percent of the members will stay away,” he fears. After the closure, sales losses and additional costs, he urgently needs more and secure income. The conditions had cost a lot, the use of disinfectants and the sports equipment ruined the rubber parts and resulted in expensive repairs, and after the experience of the Lockdowns, no one would sign a contract anymore. “Customers only buy tickets for ten. YOU can watch a healthy company go to its knees”, he is worried. He would like Germany, like Denmark, Great Britain and the Netherlands, to be able to put up with all the requirements.
Insults and hostility because of the 2G rule in bars
Dehoga recently asked how many will finally introduce the 2G rule. 40 percent said they wanted to introduce 2G, just as many want to stay with 3G and 20 percent are still undecided. “We’ll ask again in three weeks,” says Wagner. He can imagine that some will refrain from 2G when they see the amount of abuse and hostility they have to endure. Meanwhile, innkeepers are now carefully considering whether to announce 2G via Facebook, Instagram and Co. and thus bargain for a bar of mostly ugly, frightening and hurtful comments, or whether they inform about it at the door.
Some could probably not even introduce 2G, which presupposed that the employees have recovered or have been vaccinated, “and the hospitality industry cannot do without a helping hand at the moment,” says Wagner. He finds the aggressive comments on the net “underground. But you shouldn’t overestimate that. It’s a small percentage who act so hard. You shouldn’t let yourself be guided by such pressure.” On the other hand, there are also guests who called for 2G. “They don’t complain so viciously, they just express their need.” In any case, Dehoga is “a thousand percent behind every decision”. (Michelle Spillner)