One of the reasons they give for their decision is too high energy and labour costs. A little further along Sternstraße in the direction of the market, new life has returned to formerly empty shops. And there are other things going on in Bonn's city centre, which this weekend is once again inviting visitors to the Bonn Festival with an all-day shopping Sunday.

There are never really any empty shops in Sternstraße - one of the most popular shopping streets in the city centre. No sooner has one trader said goodbye than the next one opens their doors. Like the lingerie shop Change of Scandinavia, a Danish company that produces and sells mainly women's underwear under the fashion brand Lingerie. According to Wikipedia, at the end of 2019 there were over 220 Change shops worldwide, of which about 50 were in Denmark.

Diagonally opposite, a shoe and fashion shop with the melodious name Onygo has opened. Where does Onygo come from? The fashion chain's website says: "Onygo is a mixture of French and English and actually means 'On y go'. It comes from the song 'Non Stop' by the French hip-hop combo Alliance Ethnik.

And a new tenant will soon be moving into the former Schuh Schwaeppe shop, which closed its doors for good this summer after 145 years of trading in Bonn's city centre, the GA has learned. It was not (yet) possible to find out who the new tenant will be.

In the Benetton shop, Yasmin Ghavami-Cuschie stands behind the counter while her husband sorts newly delivered clothes. They both sound a little wistful when they talk about the imminent closure. "I opened my first shop 32 years ago in Meckenheim," says the businesswoman. The couple also ran a Benetton shop in Bad Godesberg at Fronhof for many years. They explain that the decision to close the Sternstraße shop has to do with the constantly rising costs. First the Covid pandemic, then the energy crisis, and then the lack of staff - in the end it was too much.

Speaking of staff shortages: it is striking how many shops in Bonn's city centre have notices looking for staff. The shortage of staff has obviously led some shops to restrict their opening hours, as you can read on signs on various shop doors.

The McTrek branch in Friedrichstraße, which opened in April 2017 where you could buy so-called outdoor articles such as hiking gear, has shut its doors completely. The branch is now closed for "operational reasons", according to a handwritten notice. A little further on, the "Vom Fass" shop, that used to be at the Dreieck, has taken up residence in the premises of the former "Schuh-Schuh" boutique.

The owner had run her fashion shop there for 21 years, until she closed the door for good in early summer. The reason she gave to the GA at the time was the Covid pandemic as well as increasing red tape and a high tax burden. And the former Hussel shop on Münsterplatz has also found a new tenant: Now instead of sweets, you can buy Body Shop bath and body care products there. The shop was previously housed in a smaller premises nearby at the Dreieck.

The renovation work in the former building of Karstadt, where the textile retailer Peek und Cloppenburg (P&C) is to move in on the ground floor as well as the first and second floors, is apparently taking longer than planned. The completion date was originally set for the end of the year, but now the owner of the Karstadt building - Aachener Grund - has informed the GA: "The space was handed over to P&C on 15 September as planned, and is now being prepared by the new tenant. To our knowledge, P&C is planning to open in spring 2023."

An enquiry to P&C's press office went unanswered. On the question of what will happen to the upper floors, Aachener Grund said: "We are still in consultation regarding the upper floors and will of course be happy to inform the press when a definite result on the future use has been reached." As reported, the City Museum, which is currently still housed in the office wing of the former Viktoriabad in the Viktoriakarree on Franziskanerstraße, was one of the potential occupants under discussion, but nothing came of it. "In the first half of the year, there were talks with the landlord of the property, but they have since been terminated. It was not a viable option for the City Museum," the municipal press office had explained exactly one year ago (the GA reported).

In the Viktoriakarree, renovation and conversion work is visibly progressing on the seven buildings that Annette Leidenfrost, managing director of LP Investments GmbH, based in Bornheim, acquired from the Signa company after the failed plans for a shopping centre. The corner building on Rathausgasse/corner of Stockenstraße, the former headquarters of Eisenwaren Dahm, is currently completely scaffolded. Original text: Lisa Inhoffen

Translation: Jean Lennox