Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.06.2019, Síða 13

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UP TO 13 DAILY DEPARTURES
FROM REYKJAVIK OLD HARBOUR
nitely saw a spike in restaurateurs
setting up shop to feed the incom-
ing hordes.
One such restaurateur is Ragnar
Eiríksson, formerly of Dill and Hótel
Holt, currently of wine bar Vínsto-
fan 10 Sopar, who is sceptical of
blaming the tourism downswing
outright.
“I don’t believe the business itself
has gotten that much harder,” he
says. “Yes, we have more restau-
rants than a decade ago, but we also
have more tourists than a decade
ago. The problem is that restaura-
teurs often get dollar signs in their
eyes and over-invest, and it can be
really hard to pay back that invest-
ment in this business.”
The rent is too
damn high
In some cases, greed and hubris
played a part. However, that doesn’t
paint a complete picture. No one
who has tried renting or buying
in downtown Reykjavík needs to
be told about
the sky-high
rental prices
a n d m a n y
claim that this
has played a
m a j o r r o l e
in the recent
spate of busi-
ness closures.
“The high
down-payments and rental guar-
antees are definitely one of the
issues,” says Jóhanna Jakobsdóttir,
the owner of recently-shuttered
Nostra on Laugavegur. “This and
the fact that all the cost of renova-
tion falls on the tenant’s shoulders.
Elsewhere in Europe you have a
tradition of grace periods and land-
lords taking a more active role in
establishing the business to ensure
success—but you don’t hear about
that here.”
Where do we go now?
It’s easy to join in the Greek chorus
of doom and gloom, but people
in the restaurant business are no
strangers to the struggle. Many
solutions have been proposed.
“I definitely agree with the role of
the landowners and landlords,” says
Erna Pétursdóttir of Ramen Momo.
“We need to establish the shared
interest when opening a restau-
rant. Nobody should be benefitting
from a bankruptcy. Some of these
changes may need to be pushed into
being by the government, through
new regulations or tax incentives.”
New horizons
Another organic solution may be
coming, as an increasing number of
ambitious food
businesses are
venturing out
into Reykjavík’s
satellite towns
and neighbour-
ing municipali-
ties, from the
n e w, i n d u s -
trial- located
Mathöll Höfða
to the Ölverk pizzeria and brewpub
in Hveragerði.
It makes sense on paper. People
like to be able to grab a bite and a
beer after work without having to
fork over the value of a UK plane
ticket to a local taxi firm. If the
suburbanite will not come to the
food, then the food must go to the
suburbanite. Will this spell the end
of downtown Reykjavík’s role as the
hub of Iceland’s food culture?
Run with the
dogs tonight
Ásgeir Þór Jónsson of the Brauðkaup
bakery in Kópavogur doesn’t think
so. “I think we’ll see more busi-
nesses moving to the suburbs,” he
says. “This is normal. You don’t see
people only dining out on La Rambla
or in Manhattan, except the tour-
ists. And it does seem like our little
neighbourhood bakery is part of a
bigger trend you see with places
like Von in Hafnarfjörður. But 101
Reykjavík will continue to be the
‘go-to’ place for a night out. That’s
not about to change.”
Eiríkur Örn Þrastarson of
Mathús Garðabæjar agrees, saying:
“People said this concept wouldn’t
work outside the centre, all the way
over in Garðabær. But we like to
think we proved people wrong, and
played a role in this trend. Two years
later we’re still seeing increases.”
Can I offer you an egg in
these trying times?
Going out to dinner is justly consid-
ered a luxury for many, but sustain-
ing a vibrant restaurant scene is not
a luxury—it remains a vital compo-
nent of Reykjavík’s future as a viable
tourist destination, and essential
for maintaining the city’s quality
of life.
Whatever the future holds,
things look like they are boiling
over in downtown Reykjavík. Will it
result in new regulations? New ways
of doing business? Or will the trick-
ling of talent into the suburbs turn
into a flood? For now, it remains to
be seen.
13 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09— 2019
Empty chairs are also a problem in the restaurant crisis
“If the suburbanite
will won’t come to
the food, then the
food must go to
the suburbanite.”