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TRYSIL (Dagbladet): The owner and operator of the largest ski après resort in Trysil, Tommy Åsheim at the Laaven restaurant, shakes his head several times during the press conference of the Minister of Health Bent Høie on Tuesday evening.
– With a bar stop, a six-foot ruler, and maybe no guests from Oslo and Viken, yeah, so it’s just to close for the whole of Easter. No one can operate in such conditions. The government had to shut everything down and guarantee a proper compensation scheme for a bleeding industry. No, this is just sad, says the experienced restaurateur, with 25 years of continuous operation at Laaven.
Dagbladet follows the press conference at an empty bar in Laaven, a restaurant that welcomes nearly 3,500 guests a day on Good Thursday, Good Friday and Christmas Eve on a normal Easter..
– With the subway rule, we had reached about 350 diners a day. We could have done an après ski with a one meter rule because of the risk of infection.
– We just have to close
– And now with the two-meter rule and bar stop?
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– My immediate reaction is that we just have to close. The authorities should have done that and collected the bill until the vaccines arrive. This is a bullshit. The phone is ticking, I have to call my colleagues tonight, and the whole industry has a discussion on Wednesday. Now there are many restaurateurs who are having a hard time, says Åsheim.
EMPTY ALPINE SLOPES: Closed in Tryselbakkene after 3.30pm before sunset on Tuesday. Laaven’s restaurant manager believes that the people of the cabin will dominate the slopes until Easter. Photo: Lars E vivos Bones / Dagbladet.
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In a normal Easter, the last in 2019, Åsheim and Laaven had 45 people working on the busiest days. With the restrictions before Tuesday’s nail in the coffin, an estimated 12 at work. Both Laaven and neighboring Barbacoa will have staff meetings on Wednesday morning about what they do at Easter.
Åsheim is clear about what he thinks will be from Laaven.
– Right now tonight I don’t see any other solution than to close. No player in the winter nightlife industry can make it work in such conditions.
WINTER SEASON ENDED: 90 percent loss of turnover this winter compared to a normal year, sums up a sad Easter owner, Tommy Åsheim, at the Laaven restaurant in Trysil. Photo: Lars E vivos Bones / Dagbladet.
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So far this winter, there has been a 90 percent decrease in turnover in Laaven compared to the normal year 2019.
– So far it amounts to NOK 19 million in lost turnover. And now the winter season is over, says Åsheim (45).
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– How do you assess the position of the nightlife industry in the rest of the country?
– It is very difficult and sad for everyone in the industry. I think it is good that there have not been more bankruptcies. People have received tax deferred, VAT, and employer from the state, which should have 8 percent on top, as I understand it. Here are dark numbers waiting around the corner, Åsheim says.
Vaccine and opening of borders
He estimates that around 70 percent of the turnover in a normal year comes from guests from Oslo and Viken. This year it has been around 90-95 percent because the borders of other countries are closed.
– What is most important for the nightlife industry in Trysil to start again next winter?
NORMAL CONDITIONS: Before closing. Photo: Laaven
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– For the entire industry, it will be crucial with vaccines and that borders are opened. And for our part here in Laaven, it is absolutely crucial to remove the subway rule. It is après ski of what we live, says Åsheim.
– The last thing removed
And quickly adds: – I’m afraid that the subway rule is the last thing removed.
Then he says: – There are many who struggle and who do not overcome this. I’m not sorry. I’ve worked hard and been lucky with a popular place.
– For everyone who runs the season, the compensation schemes go very wrong. We, who run only the season, must take all the expenses and divide them by 12. Here we run for five months and we do not receive any compensation for seven months. And we are required by law to spread the expense over 12 months.
– Last normal Easter, there have been 60,000 Easter tourists in Trysil. How many will come this Easter?
– There will be a drastic decrease, no matter what the number is at the end. Heard from hotel and restaurant colleagues that cancellations are coming. It started several days ago when the government encouraged everyone to stay home and stay away from public places, including hotels. And now this comes to the fore, sums up the owner of the restaurant.
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He still thinks that many will be coming to Trysil next week; well, they will feel isolated in the cabins.
