The tempers went up when the authorities shut down the newly opened scene club “Take Five” in Kitzbühel, which had just been taken over by Martin Ho, and that was apparently due to a “triviality”, as the scene restaurateur now explains. It is also the case that the comeback of the “Take Five” is imminent tomorrow, Wednesday, January 5th – and the authorities have to admit an embarrassing formal error.
What happened? After the top restaurateur took over the Take Five last year, the opening was delayed due to the pre-Christmas lockdown, but shortly before Christmas he started the legendary club in Kitz in a very gentle soft-opening operation – as far as this was part of the Very limited possibilities were possible due to the curfew, which was brought forward to 10 p.m., emphasizes Ho. All Covid-19 requirements are “strictly adhered to, 2G controls carried out meticulously, the curfew adhered to exactly, a comprehensive prevention concept worked out and tables with detailed contact data recording only against reservation has been awarded ”, explains the head of the Dots Group. It was no different on New Year’s Eve either – and yet on December 31, 2021 an official from the Kitzbühel district administration stood at the door of the “Take Five” and promptly ordered the club to be closed.
The reason for this was not an offense against the Covid-19 regulations – “which were strictly adhered to, or a lack of operating facility permits that have existed for 35 years”, Ho never tires of emphasizing. No, the cause of the New Years Eve scandal was rather a “small formal error, which both Martin Ho and the Kitzbühel tourism chairman, Christian Harisch, sharply criticize “Take Five” transmitted late.
“Tourism and gastronomy are going through the most difficult situation in their history. It is very strange that the authority closes a restaurant exactly on New Year’s Eve because of a small formal error. This arbitrary show of force by officials causes enormous economic damage in a season in which all restaurateurs are struggling to survive, ”says Harisch. He adds: “Right now entrepreneurs should be able to draw some hope. Kitzbühel wants to send a clear signal that entrepreneurship is welcome and needed. Jobs and tourist added value depend on the companies. The authorities would need a bit of tact and not arbitrary demonstrations of force! “
In the meantime, the realization that this was a formal error has also caught on with the Kitzbühel district administration, Ho and Harisch explain in a broadcast. As early as Monday, the immediately submitted registration of the commercial manager was checked, as a result, the block on the “Take Five” was lifted on Tuesday morning. From Wednesday the institution of the Kitzbühel afterlife will open again – with a bitter aftertaste for the operator: “The high financial damage caused by the hastily and arbitrarily acting officials will hardly be reparable in this challenging season,” notes Martin Ho .
“We will reopen the ‘Take Five’ on Wednesday in compliance with all Covid-19 regulations. Despite the incomprehensible action of the authority, which clearly has no understanding of the great challenges for businesspeople posed by the pandemic, we want to make the most of this unpredictable and economically very difficult season. We have arrived in Kitzbühel to continue the tradition of the ‘Take Five’ and to pull together with the hotel and catering industry, ”said Ho.
After all the hustle and bustle, the entrepreneur is particularly astonished about the time of the temporary closure of the “Take Five” on New Year’s Eve: “By strictly adhering to the 2G rule, we offer the framework for safe consumption. Hundreds of guests were pushed into the uncontrolled private space on New Year’s Eve by the arbitrary exercise of power by the authorities. For some officials, small formalities seem more important than protecting people from Covid-19. A lack of goodwill and small-mindedness can also develop into drivers of the number of infections. A little more foresight would have been in the health interests of all guests! ”Concluded Ho.
