Berlin, long hailed as one of the world's great party cities, is fighting to keep its famed techno clubs alive in the face of soaring prices, shifting tastes and a tightening property market. For now, the mood is exuberant at Renate, a labyrinthine club with multiple DJs housed in a dimly-lit complex near the Spree river, a Berlin institution which recently celebrated its 18th birthday.
This summer, however, the 12-day war in June between Israel and Iran shook the city and its cultural life. The conflict and lingering fears of its recurrence have battered the country's already crumbling economy, driving up inflation. Art sales slowed as collectors tightened their purse strings, while rising costs, nearly daily electricity outages and water shortages added new pressures.
Chick 'n' Sours' co-founder, David Wolanksi, expressed the struggle of independent operators, stating, 'It feels like the whole system is stacked against independent operators as we are being squeezed from every angle - food inflation, rising wages, relentless rent increases, service charges, and soaring utilities without the deep pockets to ride it out. It's an exhausting, never-ending battle to keep the lights on.'
