Residents want more affordable food options after a ‘luxury’ market hall in Kreuzberg evicted the discount supermarket

The residents of Berlin’s Kreuzberg district have become renowned for their impassioned clashes against capitalism. Now, they’ve stepped up to defend an unexpected establishment: the local branch of Aldi, a supermarket with a €50bn annual turnover.

The fight centres on Markthalle Neun, a 19th-century market hall that has been revitalised in recent years into a centre for boutique shops and artisanal food. In February the market announced it was cancelling Aldi’s contract from 31 July, effectively evicting the discount grocery giant.

The decision did not sit well in Kreuzberg, a well-known radical stronghold where the first McDonald’s was pelted with stones and paint bombs and a plan from Google to set up a startup campus was slapped down.

Residents have rallied to decry the market as “luxury food porn hall”. A recent protest against the Aldi closure attracted more than 400 people, waving placards such as: “Don’t mess with the [neighbourhood]”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aldi sits alongside boutique shops and artisanal food stalls in Markthalle Neun. Photograph: Barbara Woolsey

“We were more than a bit [surprised] there was such a large reaction,” says Florian Niedermeier, co-owner of Markthalle Neun. “The departure of Aldi and other discounters was part of our plan from the beginning, and back then it was discussed a lot with residents.”

But times have changed since those earlier discussions. Gentrification has transformed Kreuzberg: rents increased 9.1% last year alone, and flyers on lampposts and utility boxes declare: “We cannot afford the rich here.” Anti-gentrification groups say locals are being displaced by a city-wide lack of affordable family housing and rising costs.

Of course I am not advocating for Aldi [specifically], but for a market hall with basic groceries that fit residents’ budgets

For them, Aldi, despite being a huge corporation with more than 10,000 stores in 20 countries, provides a much-needed service: reasonably priced food.

“The market hall explicitly has the mandate to provide residents with food,” says the activist Andreas Wildfang. “Right now that is 100% not being fulfilled.”

When its owners bought it from the government for just €1.15m – one of thousands of residential and commercial buildings sold off to investors after the fall of the Berlin Wall – it was in disrepair, “exuding the charm of a bargain counter with a roof”, as a Berlin newspaper put it.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The market supports small-scale sustainable producers, but campaigners say their products are too expensive for many residents. Photograph: Markthalle Neun

The new Markthalle Neun opened in 2011 and has become a popular attraction, drawing crowds with its weekly Street Food Thursdays and events showcasing craft beer, regional cheese and organic wine.

The market’s strategy is to support small-scale, sustainable producers. On-site businesses include handmade pasta, tofu made in the building’s basement, organic ice cream and an experimental barbecuer.

The prices reflect the costs of handiwork and high-quality ingredients. The butcher sells an €8 burger, made with bread and toppings sold from neighbouring stands. A bottle of craft beer costs about €4.

We have to talk about why many parts of our society cannot afford food at a real price, not how to keep those alive who practice price dumping

However, 40% of children in Kreuzberg live in families who receive state assistance. The welfare allowance for feeding a five-year-old child works out to less than €3 a day.

Wildfang points out that a croissant at the artisan baker in the market costs more than €1.50, whereas Aldi sells croissants for €0.40.

“Of course I am not advocating for Aldi [specifically], but for a market hall with basic groceries that fit residents’ budgets,” says Wildfang. “You can say the situation is ironic, but it’s not ironic when you have damn little money.”

Not everybody thinks keeping Aldi is a particularly good idea either, however.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest 40% of children in the area surrounding the market live in families who receive state assistance. Photograph: Markthalle Neun

Berlin’s restaurateurs and foodies have taken to social media to criticise the protesters.

“Sure, [Aldi’s departure] means their cheap food disappears for now. But there are many other places where producers and farmers are still exploited,” reads a Facebook post from Nobelhart & Schmutzig, a high-end restaurant. “It all comes down to a fundamental problem: people don’t know how to eat well. And how can they if they only ever buy the food available at discount stores?”

Hendrik Haase, a food activist and founder of the Kumpel & Keule butcher shop in Markthalle Neun, recently tweeted:

How supermarkets choose where to open … and where to close Read more

“We have to talk about why many parts of our society cannot afford food at a real price, not how to keep those alive who practice price dumping.”

In an open letter on its website, Markthalle Neun argues that there are several other discount supermarkets within a 2km radius.

That won’t dissuade further protests. Wildfang says saving Aldi would be only a “starting point” for talks demanding “a little more respect and humility … for how many [Kreuzberg] families must get by with such a grotesquely low daily allowance”.

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