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Spätverkauf, Spätkauf or "Späti" () is a type of convenience shop found generally in East German cities, such as Berlin, Dresden or Leipzig, which is known to operate late at night past the usual shopping hours, often 24 hours per day. Translating literally to 'late purchase', ''Spätis'' mostly sell alcohol and tobacco but may also sell groceries or everyday items. Some shops may also offer internet access,''Kult-Spätkauf in Berlin: Party beim Kiez-Krämer.''
Bei: ''
Der Spiegel (online) ''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON''). It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wit ...
''.
a postal service for retail, and usually feature small benches for clients to sit on while drinking beer. Due to the invention of mobile web, many internet cafés have since extended their range of products to function as a ''Späti''. Most shops are run by migrant families of Turkish, Arabian, Vietnamese and otherwise Asian origin and are a part of the culture of Berlin's local neighbourhoods known as "
Kiez ''Kiez'' () (also: ''Kietz'') is a German word that refers to a city neighbourhood, a relatively small community within a larger town. The word is mainly used in Berlin and northern Germany. Similar quarters are called ''Veedel'' in Cologne and ' ...
". Similar kinds of shops with different regional names are found in the
Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
, the
Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...
,
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
and
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
. The end of Sunday openings in 2016 caused a decline in the total number of ''Spätis''. According to the organization "Berliner Späti e.V.", about 800 ''Spätis'' had to close down since then. There are said to have been around 2000 ''Spätis'' in 2012.


History

The ''Spätverkauf'' was established in the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
in the second half of the 20th century for workers coming home from late night shifts. They were usually shops of the state-owned retail chains
Handelsorganisation The Handelsorganisation (“Trading Organisation”, or HO) was a national retail business owned by the central administration of the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany and from 1949 on by the state of the German Democratic Republic. It was cre ...
and Konsum. While regular shops would close at 6 p.m., ''Spätkaufs'' would be open until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m., shops in big cities could sometimes have longer opening hours. Depending on local circumstances they would either close at 18.30h or open earlier than regular shops as a ''Frühverkauf'' ("early sale"). The word ''"Spätkauf"'' had been used in West Berlin as of the 1980s. After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the shortened term ''"Späti"'' was adopted for other stores extending regular business hours. Now, the term ''Späti'' has also come to use in some Southern German cities like
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
or
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. In 1995 the ''"antipreneurial" one-man artist group'' ' presented ''LESS function IS MORE fun'' as a post-
neoist Neoism is a parodistic -ism. It refers both to a specific subcultural network of artistic performance and media experimentalists, and, more generally, to a practical underground philosophy. It operates with collectively shared pseudonyms and id ...
special waste sale of interpassive design-defuncts''tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE'' on neoist interpassivity and Florian Cramer's relationship to neoism in a book review of Florian Cramer's book publication "Anti-Media." http://idioideo.pleintekst.nl/Book2013Anti-Media.html in a so-called ''Spätverkauf'' installation by
Laura Kikauka Laura Kikauka (born 1963, Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian installation and performance artist. Kikauka is known for her sculptural installations and performances incorporating found objects and electronics. Career and work Kikauka is known for ...
, located at a glass pavilion next to the
Volksbühne Berlin The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The Vo ...
, which she claimed as one of her projects of ''
Maximalism In the arts, maximalism, a reaction against minimalism, is an aesthetic of excess. The philosophy can be summarized as "more is more", contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more". Literature The term ''maximalism'' is sometimes associat ...
''.
Danielle de Picciotto Danielle de Picciotto is an American-born artist, musician and filmmaker. She was born in Tacoma, Washington, USA,. She currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. In 1989 she founded, along with her partner Dr. Motte, the first Berlin Love Par ...

''Laura Kikauka: "Rediscovering the art of slowing down"''
''Kaput – Magagazin für Insolvenz & Pop'', 6 February 2018


Legal status and political debates

Contrary to the usual practice of ''Spätkaufs'', only
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s,
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,
baked goods Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...
and
dairy product Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in th ...
s may be sold on Sundays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
's ''Ladenschlussgessetz'' ('shop closing law'). Tourist offers and beverages may only be offered between 1 and 8 p.m. on Sundays. The sale of
alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
is not allowed on Sundays. In March 2012, a
Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incorp ...
resident reported 48 stores that violated the shop closing law to the Berlin ''Ordnungsamt'' ('Office of Public Order'). This led to several ''Spätkaufs'' being fined between €150 and €2500. One in particular, "Kollwitz 66", later drew attention with a counter-campaign by displaying the name and phone number of the person reporting the violations at the shop and also publishing it on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
. In a radio interview, Berlin City Councilor Torsten Kühne stated that the ''Ordnungsamt'' must thoroughly investigate every violation of the shop closing law. Berlin's ''Ordnungsamt'' lacked the resources to do so, however. In October 2012, the CDU in
Pankow Pankow () is the most populous and the second-largest borough by area of Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weißensee; the resulting borough retained the name Pankow. P ...
tried to introduce legislation that would have legalized Berlin's ''Spätkaufs''. However, this failed. In June 2015, a
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
with the
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#RettetdieSpätis ("save the ''Spätis''") was started on the website
change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...
, which demanded an adjustment of the shop closing law that would have changed the legal status of ''Spätkaufs'' to something similar to gas stations and train station stores. Due to violations of the Sunday sales ban, fines of €35,000 have been imposed on ''Spätkauf'' operators in the district of
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg () is the second borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg. The historic Oberbaum Bridge, formerly a Berlin border cro ...
in 2015, and fines of €70,000 in the district of
Neukölln Neukölln () is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is located in the southeastern part from the city centre towards Berlin Schönefeld Airport. It was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city. It featu ...
.
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...
demanded an exemption for ''Spätkaufs'' for a number of hours on Sundays, but this was not supported by the governing parties
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...
and CDU. Martin Delius, a Pirate Party member, proposed to convert ''Spätkaufs'' into
charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...
s for
pedelec A pedelec (from pedal electric cycle) or EPAC (''electronically power assisted cycle''), is a type of low-powered electric bicycle where the rider's pedalling is ''assisted'' by a small electric motor. However, unlike some other types of e-bik ...
s, which would have given them the same legal status as
gas stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...
. In 2016, a ''Spätkauf'' located in the district of
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf () is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in an administrative reform with effect from 1 January 2001, by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf. Overview Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the w ...
was banned from opening on Sundays by the responsible district office under the threat of a €1,500 fine. After the owner sued before the Administrative Court of Berlin, the court ruled in May 2019 that Berlin's ''Spätkaufs'' must remain closed on Sundays as a matter of principle. In the reasoning, it is said that ''Spätis'' mainly offer products of everyday demand and are aimed at the unspecific supply of the close surrounding area. Thus, the shops did not fall under a corresponding exemption in the Berlin ''Ladenöffnungsgesetz'' ('shop opening law') for tourist stores.


Similar shops


"Trinkhalle", "Kiosk" and "Büdchen"

While some places don't have small shops with long business hours, they exist with different names especially in the
Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
, the
Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...
,
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
and
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
. They are called "Trinkhalle" (literally translates to 'drinking hall'), "
Kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...
" and "Büdchen" (literally translates to 'small stall'). Initially, it was popular for shops to have windows where customers ordered from outside, but now they are usually small bodega-style shops. Additional to selling goods, they provide a space for social interaction and local party culture.
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
alone has about 1000 "Büdchen". These establishments are part of the town culture, research objects, destinations of city tours and motives for calendar pictures. Since 2016 the "Düsseldorfer Büdchentag" celebrates the local Kiosk culture in the Renish city of Düsseldorf with a special day in the summer. This Büdchentag attracts tourists and Düsseldorfer alike and has grown to become a regular and well-loved fixture in Düsseldorf.


Outside of Germany

In the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, similar shops are called "večerka" ('evening shops'). In
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, these kinds of shops are mostly run by
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
vendors. In
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
there are comparable shops called "Peripteros". In
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, there used to be around 1500
newsstands A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...
, which not only sold newspapers, but also drinks, sweets or tobacco products. By now, their number has fallen to about 300, most of these in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. In
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, there are shops that sell a limited range of food, snacks and toilet paper and are usually open 24 hours per day. These shops are called "chinos", because they're usually run by Asian immigrants. An examination by the Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio ("Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce") in 2007 counted 16.000 "chinos" and comparable shops in all of Spain, 26% of which were actually run by Chinese immigrants who had been in Spain for less than 10 years.


English translations and alternative names

In
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, ''"Spätkauf"'' has a lot of English translations and
pseudo-anglicism A pseudo-anglicism is a word in another language that is formed from English elements and may appear to be English, but that does not exist as an English word with the same meaning. For example, English speakers traveling in France may be struck ...
s, like "Late Night Shop", "Late Shop", "Late Buying", "Late Shopping", "Night Shop", "Nightstore" or "All in One Shop". "Spätshop" or "Internetcafé" are also used sometimes. Spätkauf Late Night Shop.jpg Late Shop.jpg Night Shop.jpg Spätkauf Late Buying.jpg Multi Shop.jpg Späti All in one Shop.jpg Charlottenburg Wilmersdorfer Straße Späti.jpg Alaunstraße 37, Dresden (33).jpg Internetcafe Nightstore.jpg Drinks Internetcafe Snacks.jpg


See also

*
Convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...
*
Superette A superette is an alternative name for a compact supermarket or "mini-mart". Etymology In French, the ''ette'' ending conveys the idea of a smaller version of a supermarket ('). However, supermarket has been shortened to ''super'' - leaving ...
*
Grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...


References


External links

{{Spoken Wikipedia, date=2021-12-25, En-Spätkauf-article.ogg Convenience stores German youth culture