Three months after reopening Many stores still empty in Bonn's Maximilian passage
Bonn · Tenants in the Maximilian passage are still complaining about start-up problems three months after the reopening. Some say they have called lawyers to get them compensation for lost revenue. Many stores are still empty.
The Maximilian passage at Bonn's underground station has been open again for a good three months. Numerous stores and snack bars have returned to their old locations. But the underground passage still looks like a set of teeth with gaps in it. In some stores, the shutters are down, contributing to the emptiness. In other places, the entire interior is still there, but nothing is being sold. Che Falafel, for example.
"It takes time to get the word out. It's like a new opening," says an employee of Maxi Döner. For 15 months, there was nothing happening. He - like some others - would like to see the other stores reopen soon. But he doesn't know whether that will happen, whether the old tenants will reopen, or if any new tenants will come.
Le Du Chinese Street Food has been in the arcade since the beginning, three years ago. "Not that many customers come by yet," says the employee behind the counter. The snack bar is an example of food from all over the world being offered in the Maximilian passage. At this stand, there are freshly prepared ducks every day or so, hanging crispy brown in a display case.
"It's slowly starting up again," says an employee of Korean BBQ Grill. The street-food restaurant is most popular with Germans, she says, but some Koreans stop by as well. "They can cook their own food, though," the employee says with a smile. She, too, thinks there aren't enough tenants yet. But the effects of the water damage are still being felt, she says. "Our insurance company has paid almost nothing,” she says. Besides that, businesses have suffered from the Covid pandemic years. There are also problems with the landlord, she says, and some have called in lawyers. Add to that, the rent is quite high.
Before coronavirus, everything was much better, says the employee of Hotalo Vietnamese Street Food. It can't stay this way, it must get better. Some neighboring businesses, for example, were not even open for a full day, closing their stores at 2 p.m.
"The underground arcade was reopened on July 1," says Belinda Burgmeier, spokeswoman for the landlord, the Bayerischen Versorgungskammer. "There is still repair work to be done in some of the stores. We are in communication with individual stores regarding opening dates," she says.
As reported, the Maxmo pharmacy has moved out, but there was no dispute involved in that situation. In individual stores, renovation work is still being carried out unrelated to the water damage, "and we are in communication with individual stores," Burgmeier says.
With regard to damage compensation, the landlord says it is in contact with the tenants and looks at each case individually. "For the time being, the insurance companies will pay for damages directly caused to the tenants," says the spokeswoman. So far, there have been no new tenants.
Owner says nothing about details of lease agreements
Burgmeier says the Bayerischen Versorgungskammer is "very keen to continue the relationship with all our tenants in a positive way". However, she does not want to give any information about the tenancies. During repairs to the building, care was taken to ensure that such damage could not recur in the event of another severe storm, she said.
The technical systems for the building, which opened in 2019, are located on the first floor. Water damage caused by a storm on June 20 affected the main power supply, which had been out of service since then. Primark being above ground has its own power supply and was not affected. It was one of the first stores to reopen.
(Orig. text: Richard Bongartz; Translation: ck)
