Since 29 May, restaurants and cafés have been able to open their doors. Owners must respect a series of regulations, including a limited number of guests per table, and the obligation to wear face masks when walking around. They also have to close at midnight.
Usually, nightclubs take over at this stage, offering DJ performances, dance floors, and often a whole lot of alcohol. But while owners of nightclubs are in principle allowed to open their businesses, the short time frame makes it nearly impossible to generate revenue.
Edvin Huremović, whose M club receives about 1,300 guests in normal times, laments that “we are very likely the last ones to be allowed to reopen. If we were allowed to work all night, we could potentially receive about 500 people”. However, with 11 full-time employees and about 40 additional workers – in the case of the group M Club and Gotham – as well as only 8 working days per month (Fridays and Saturdays) it will be difficult to cover costs and continue without state aid.
Jonathan Engel, in charge of White Club in Foetz, makes a similar assessment of the situation: “If we could open the club until 3am and receive between 400 and 500 people, we could manage. At the moment, it’s pointless to reopen”. Even though he managed to get his 10 employees on partial unemployment and receive state aids, he is forced to work on new ideas: “I am going to open the White Shisha Lounge in Esch in September in order to diversify. It’s too risky to only invest in nightlife”.
Erik De Toffol, manager of Saumur, a well-known club and nightlife restaurant among party-goers and restaurant staff who often visit after their shifts, decided to reopen as soon as possible, every night: “Our tables are far enough apart, and we have also installed Perspex where it was necessary”. This is for instance the case in the striptease room where dancers will wear visors from now on.
Even though De Toffol thinks he can manage with fewer guests because of social distancing, the main problem is the closing time: “I don’t understand why Casino 2000 is allowed to stay open until 3 or 4am while we have to close at midnight… This destroys our business”. He also pointed out the difference between Luxembourg and France, where closing hours have been set at 2am.
He went on to say that just because clubs remain closed, people would not stop partying. Instead, they rented AirBnbs, or met in the woods. According to De Toffol, at least in nightclubs, the respect of social distancing regulations could be monitored.
Meanwhile, the staff of Gudde Wëllen, a bar, concert room and club, is mainly waiting for the authorisation to create a terrace in the old town as their rooms are too small to profitably receive customers inside. Luka Heindrichs stated that because of their eight employees and continuing rent payments the business is starting to run out of what little savings they had to begin with.
Night owls and all of those working in the nightlife sector alike are waiting for solutions on how these businesses could reopen with more possibilities. Edvin Huremović states: “Right now we have a comeback event scheduled for 1 August, which we could potentially reschedule, if necessary. But I do hope that we won’t have a summer without clubs”.
