In recent years, the phrase has gone like a notch in the record: – If we just survive this, then it will be like before, says Nicolai Aanonsen Engesvik. The seasoned bar owner takes a sip of the pint. The waterhole in Storgata is almost empty. – Expenses, bills, prices. Just getting people to come is difficult, he says. The restaurant and nightlife industry struggled through a pandemic. Then came the electricity prices, increased interest and expensive time. – The whole industry is struggling. I know many people who have used up all their savings and borrowed what they can. HEAVY: The job Nicolai Aanonsen Engesvik previously described as a party has become a struggle. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Empty piggy banks Heavyweights as well as small and independent companies have filed for bankruptcy. At this time last year, bankruptcy was reached in the accommodation and catering industry. The last time as many closed its doors was in 2008. Horgan’s pub went bankrupt after 32 years. After five years, it was the end of the well-known pub Skjenken Bar og Bakgård on Youngstorget in Oslo. On New Year’s Eve they were open for the last time. Christopher Nielsen’s Misfornøyelsesbar in central Oslo will close its doors for good in 2023. The place had several challenging years. And there will be more. – We expect a strong wave of bankruptcy for the whole country in 2024, says Kari Mette Almskog, managing director of Dun & Bradstreet Norway. Kari Mette Almskog, managing director of Donner Bradstreet Norway, predicts a hard spring for the industry. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / news The analyst believes that 2024 will offer a record number of bankruptcies. Her figures show that many have run out of equity and built up debt in the past year. When you combine this with increased costs, the road to bankruptcy is short. Restaurants and nightclubs are among those in the worst position. The expert points out that it is an industry with a lot of risk and which sells something that consumers deprioritise in times of need. MANY: Regular customers have had to say goodbye to several nightclubs and restaurants in the past year. Many after decades in the cityscape. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / news The hook on the pub door Selling beer when people are struggling to get food on the table is no easy matter. You can feel it at all the bars Nicolai Aanonsen Engesvik runs. The bar owner is always a little behind with the payments. He must call good suppliers to ask for ten more days to pay. – It’s not a good feeling, he says. EXPENSIVE: Four times a year the big breweries raise their prices. The bar owner chooses not to upgrade as often. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news At one of his bars, the mountain of debt grew large. He opened Perestroika in 2015. People flocked. It was also here that he met his future wife over a salary bill. – It was my baby. We did everything we could to save it, he says. But turnover never got to where it was before the pandemic. In October, he had to hand over the keys. BANKRUPTCY: Bar Perestrojka opened in 2015 and was located in Strøget in the center of Oslo. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / news And he is far from the only one. A survey carried out by Avisa Oslo shows that 74 catering establishments in the city have closed down or gone bankrupt in the last two years. Many people find it sad. Nadir Mohammad Alam / news The little ones struggle When Gloria Bizimana (21) and Ijeoma Maduekwe (23) go out, they choose small and independent places. – They are the ones who make Oslo Oslo. At the same time, I think they are struggling the most now, says Bizimana. The friend agrees. – The money accumulates with the big ones who will always survive, says Maduekwe. Nadir Mohammad Alam / news Important meeting places – It is sad if many places have to close, says Nikolai Borge. After turning 18, there is a great desire to explore the nightlife. – It is important to have places where you can meet and be together. And where you might want to spend your time when you finish school and such, he says. Nadir Mohammad Alam / news Gledet segJeanvier (40) often makes the trip to Youngstorget. Several places have closed there in the last year. – After corona, I thought we were on our way to better times. I’ve been looking forward to concerts and going to clubs. He himself takes it as an invitation to use the places he likes. Two out of three are concerned But not everyone in the industry struggles as much. Member surveys conducted by Virke show that one in three in the industry thinks things are going well. While two out of three are concerned about increased costs and less purchasing power. At the same time, several people are struggling with the after-effects of corona. – Their hope is that price inflation will stabilize and that interest rates will fall. Nobody wants expensive time, says Rhiannon Hovden Edwards in Virke. Rhiannon Hovden Edwards is industry director for culture and experiences in Virke. Photo: Virke She believes that the large players are in a better position than the small ones, because they are less vulnerable to economic fluctuations. They can also profit from the little ones struggling. – If you are a large player with ice in your stomach, then there are good acquisition opportunities right now. If you can afford it and can wait a bit, she says. But not everyone can afford to wait. LATEST: Many catering establishments have “drunk” their entire equity during and after corona. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news – Losing the special ones – It’s sad if you lose the special places with a soul, says Nicolai Aanonsen Engesvik. After Perestroika closed its doors, many regular customers have sent emotional messages to the bar owner. – They have thanked for the time, told about good memories and meetings with the great love. EMPTY: The bar owner says fewer people come if the venue looks empty. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news The bar owner believes that the small places create the cityscape. And I think it’s sad if they disappear in the economic drain. Until then, there is life in Engesvik’s other bars. But the future is uncertain. – If you like a place, you should use it while you can. If you buy a lager, you are just as welcome as if you buy 15. He thinks about it and laughs. – You are actually more welcome.
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A record number of bankruptcies await in the catering industry – Greater Oslo
