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Berlin Culture: The Charm of Späti

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Späti is not your ordinary convenience store. On the contrary, they are an essential part of Berlin's neighborhood culture nowadays, with its history rooted in the communist era.


Berlin, the city of contrasts and its vibrant urban never-dying appeal, attracts loads and loads of tourists each year from around the globe. You might have already checked a lot of items off of your Berlin’s must-see list: stroll through the Brandenburg Gate, discover art at the East Side Gallery, remember at the Holocaust Memorial, join a techno party, to name a few. Though if you have never heard or come across the word späti, you might have missed a substantial cultural asset for the city’s identity.

What is späti?

At first sight, a späti appears to be nothing more special than a regular late-night convenience store where you can get a large selection of drinks, food, cigarettes, or anything you fancy. The word späti is an abbreviation of the word spätkauf, meaning late-night shopping.

Most of them look alike: with its minimalistic furnishing, poor lighting, rear-view surveillance mirror on the ceiling, overflowing shelves with snacks, alcohol, and magazines. They are a meeting point for many neighbors who stop there to chill on a set of wooden benches or a pack of beer crates, nursing a 1.5 euro-something-costing beer in their hands. One can spot the old and the young, the rich and the poor, speaking multiple languages. All of them have one aim to enjoy a night out with a laid-back vibe that these Berlin gems offer.

Berlin or elsewhere

Conveniently located on almost every street, each Berliner gets to purchase something from one of them at least once a week. Though not specific to Berlin, there are some 900 spätis in the entire city, and that makes it pretty impressive. Also, they belong to the city like bicycles to Amsterdam or eating pastry for breakfast in Parisian cafés.

Späti am Schlesi at night, Photo credit: Google Maps


Späti’s origin

These shops that supply their neighbors and passers-by with bottled beer around the clock originated in socialist East Germany: in late-night shops called späterverkaufstellen (late-night outlets). Many shift workers would go there to buy bread, alcohol, or cigarettes at odd hours. As the sole symbol of progressiveness of socialistic Germany, they spread to the western part of the city only after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Behind the counter

Nowadays, the spätis are owned exclusively by the first, second, or third generation of immigrants for whom this kind of breadwinning is a great way to provide for their families, especially when they lack the language skills.

Fighting gentrification

Many foreigners who move to the city of Berlin picture a city that is livable, a place that would not require digging deep in the pocket, a place that welcomes people from different financial and social backgrounds. One thing is sure: today’s spätis have a lot more meaning to the city than they used to. And it’s not only about having the chance to buy a cheap beer on a Sunday afternoon when all the other shops in the city are closed: the spätis are in general a crucial part of the kiez (neighborhood) culture. However, with the city’s hyper-gentrification, and stricter regulations about opening hours and rising rents, the spätis are at risk of disappearing. Let's hope that the spätis won't be fully replaced by hip urban cafés and fancy bars as their presence represents the values initially intended for the city.

Sources:

Wallmeier, Fabian. “Der Späti ist ein Kind des Ostens”. rbb 244, 8 November 2019, https://www.rbb24.de/politik/thema/2019/30-Jahre-Mauerfall/beitraege/spaeti-berlin-ddr-osten-spaetverkaufsstelle-geschichte.html. Accessed 15 October 2020.