The suspicions of entrepreneurs when dividing the areas of outdoor cafes: they received unexpected offers from the winning companies

Areas are potentially rented for money

Anželika Šiško, director of the Mililitrai cocktail bar located on Vilniaus street, said that she had requested the terrace number 185 in Vilniaus ir Liejyklos str. square.

According to her, as planned for the Municipality of Vilnius, a public tender was held, during which eighteen companies that had submitted documents applied for that area and had to meet the necessary criteria.

However, the curiosity, according to the head of the bar, began when the call arrived when the winner of the terrace area was announced. He explained after receiving a call with an offer to rent the area for which the tender was held. Although A. Šiško did not ask for prices, according to her, she is angry that a company that does not even need the aforementioned areas will obtain operating permits.

“It turns out that the winning company has nothing to do with the restaurant or bar business, it does not have permits to do so and is registered at the end of the city,” he said.

According to the municipal website, the UAB Šlaito namai, headed by Jevgenijus Vaitkevičius, won the tender for 185 seats.

Delfi has verified that the company is licensed to provide catering services. According to the State Food and Veterinary Service, such permission has not been granted to the company.

“According to the State Food and Veterinary Service, such a food handling entity is not registered,” the comment was commented.

According to the information available in the Registry Center, the company is dedicated to the purchase and sale of its own properties.

The newsroom contacted the head of that company, but did not receive a response to the questions. Once received, the text will be completed.

The representatives of the Vilnius municipality themselves assured that they had received a complaint about the area won by this company and explained that the company owned the premises on Vilniaus Street. 35.

“They don’t have an outdoor cafe near the facility, we don’t check the available stationary area, we trust the applicant. If it turns out that incorrect data has been submitted, we would have the right to cancel the permit, ”commented representatives of the Vilnius city municipality.

When asked if the company that won the outdoor coffee area could lease it to other people, it was replied that the permit is issued to the company that submitted the selection or application, and other relationships between legal entities are regulated by the Civil Code.

See unfair competition

Modestas Paplauskas, co-owner of the Spiritus bar located near the Gates of Dawn, also said that he had encountered a series of questionable procedures to divide the area from outdoor terraces.

According to him, after claiming a part of the area in J. Basanavičius Square, they did not win the area, but some neighboring bars and catering establishments received two or even three competitive areas in the same place.

“To the best of my knowledge and belief, it may provide you with useful information by completing the application, but it will not necessarily be verified. As in this case, it probably was.

There must be human intervention and the data must be verified by those who understand a particular specificity of the business, not by those who look at the map of the city through a computer. As it happened in this case, ”he said, adding that an institution that does not have a fixed catering location and is registered in the Žvėrynas district also won the area for activities.

Cafe Montmarte owner Thomas Teiten also claimed to have claimed part of the area in the same Basanavičius square, but claimed that his application was rejected without any explanation, even though the company met all the criteria.

“We were surprised by the results, because three companies won everything.

We are unhappy and believe that the competition is not completely transparent. We also file a complaint with the municipality.

One of the winning companies currently has no employees, there is no space near Basanavičius Square or stationary premises ”, said the businessman.

He said that if his company did not have the space to operate outdoors, the man would be forced to shut down his business entirely and lay off 15 workers.

Municipality: The companies themselves are responsible for the veracity of the data provided.

The editorial office asked the municipalities of the city of Vilnius to clearly explain which companies could obtain operating permits and which criteria were followed.

The responses provided indicated that only bars, cafes and restaurants operating in stationary premises can apply for the area of ​​an outdoor café, and the winners were selected according to three criteria, namely the distance from the catering premises. stationary to the planned outdoor cafe. .the cafeteria area and the area of ​​the restoration space of the stationary premises available.

“The data provided in the requests of all the participants in the selection have been reviewed and verified, the provision of sanitary requirements in the existing stationary cafes has been taken into account.

There were applicants whose station cafeteria premises are far from the selection site, ”explained the representatives of the Vilnius municipality.

It is true that when asked if the City Council verified the information provided by the companies before picking up the winners, asked if they have the necessary permits to provide catering services, the answer was that such things are not verified.

“Companies are responsible for the accuracy of the data provided. Selection scores are calculated automatically.

We assess whether the winning company will be able to meet the health needs of the visitors, that is, whether the stationary café is not too far from the declared outdoor café location. We can also measure the distance from the facility to the outdoor cafe. also check the information if we receive complaints.

We do not verify if we have alcohol or tobacco licenses, because if a company does not have these licenses during its operation, it means that it will not be able to sell alcohol or tobacco products ”, the response was positive.

True, it was also ensured that no matter what address the business is registered to, it is important that it legally owns or manages the facility near a potential outdoor café location.

Representatives of the municipality did not hide that they were receiving complaints about the division of outdoor areas of cafes.

“All complaints are investigated as soon as possible and the companies are informed about the decisions taken. The relationship between complaints and the number of permits issued is relatively high,” reported the representatives.

According to them, to date, 217 permits have been issued to trade in outdoor cafes.