‘You buy the ice cream now and then you can eat it in two months.’
Berlin – A German artisanal ice cream
parlour is asking customers to buy coupons, instead of hoarding
toilet paper, to help keep it afloat as the government shut most
businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rosa Canina, an organic ice cream maker whose three Berlin
stores were shut on Monday, said in notices on its windows that
it hoped loyal customers would buy vouchers online to help it
bridge the next few weeks. The business has been described as “a
culinary Shangri-La for ice cream gourmets” by the Top 10 Berlin
website.
“Somehow we will get through this. You buy the ice cream now
and then you can eat it in two months,” said co-founder Julia
Philipps.
She urged customers to do whatever they could to support
their favourite restaurants, and hoped other local businesses
would join in selling coupons as well.
Germany is suffering a major economic hit from the
coronavirus crisis, with schools shut, more than 6,000 people
known to be infected and 13 dead, and a rapid rise in case
numbers.
The federal government has loosened insolvency rules that
risked forcing companies into declaring bankruptcy while they
waited for state aid to arrive.
Reuters