Rapper Sido will shut down his Berlin late-night shop "Svenni's Nachtshop" next month, according to Spiegel. The Berlin-born musician announced the closure on Sara Arslan's podcast "Take me Späti," citing rent increases as the reason.
"You can't finance a Späti like that," Sido said on the podcast, as reported by Spiegel.
Why it matters
The closure puts a public face on a pressure many small Berlin shops are feeling. Sido said the monthly rent for the space rose from €4,000 to €6,000, a figure he described as beyond what the business can carry.
The shop's fate also illustrates how quickly a celebrity side project can run into the same economics as any corner store. Sido, 45, opened the business with partners during the coronavirus pandemic, a period when many cultural projects were on hold.
A pandemic opening with three names behind it
Sido launched the store near Ostkreuz in summer 2021 together with rapper Bozza and kiosk operator Armin Bahari-Darakhshan, according to Spiegel. The idea came from a friend who already ran a Späti at the time — apparently a reference to Bahari-Darakhshan.
Bahari-Darakhshan told the magazine of wholesaler Lekkerland in 2022 that the team opened the shop in the middle of the pandemic simply because they wanted to do it, and that they had time on their hands during lockdown. He also warned that running such a store is harder than it looks: anyone who isn't prepared to work hard and face long nights should think twice, he said, according to Spiegel.
The name has a simple origin. Sido explained on the podcast that the three people who opened the shop all called each other "Svenni," which is how they landed on "Svenni's Nachtshop." At just under 100 square meters, the store is considerably larger than a typical Berlin Späti, and it includes a hidden lounge in a back room.
Asked whether he plans to open another Späti elsewhere, Sido was clear: "Nope, not planned," he said, according to Spiegel.
What to watch
The shop is set to close next month. Whether the space near Ostkreuz is taken over by another operator, and at what rent, has not been reported.
