Eindhoven restaurant opens despite lockdown

Despite coronavirus restrictions closing catering establishments in the Netherlands since mid-October, one restaurant in Eindhoven was open over the weekend. The owners of BBQ restaurant De Kiet on Edisonstraat announced on Facebook that they will no longer be adhering to the forced closure. "Fuck it, we are open," the two catering entrepreneurs said in a video posted on Facebook.

"We have decided to open our doors to guests. And we'll keep them open," The owners said in a statement on Facebook. "If there is one thing we have learned from entrepreneurship, it is self-reliance."

The restaurant owners are not happy with the restrictions the lockdown placed on catering establishments. "We now notice that polices are being pursued which make it impossible for us, and many more hardworking people in our country, to earn our living in a dignified way," they said. "We have been left out in the cold for months. The damage massive and unnecessary. Enough is enough."

"Change starts with yourself. We won't wait another day for 'hopeful' news from The Hague. We have seen for a long time that they are not going to help us," the De Kiet owners said. They called on other entrepreneurs to follow their example. "Are you an entrepreneur and feel powerless? Stand up for your staff and your business!"

Multiple guests were seen eating at De Kiet on Sunday evening, Omroep Brabant reported. At the door, a chalkboard sign read, translated from Dutch: "No face mask, no problem We live in love, never in fear. Live a little."

When enforcement officers arrived on site on Sunday evening, the restaurant was already empty, the municipality of Eindhoven told Hart van Nederland. The owners were reprimanded, the municipality said. The police and enforcement officers gave the restaurant a final warning. If the coronavirus rules are violated again, the business will be closed indefinitely.

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