Kiosk ban in Mönchengladbach: Sunday rest hits retailers hard!

Kiosk ban in Mönchengladbach: Sunday rest hits retailers hard!

In North Rhine-Westphalia, a recent ban is causing a stir among kiosk owners. In Mönchengladbach, the popular small sales outlets were still allowed to be open on Sundays until March of this year. But the public order office surprisingly banned the kiosk owners from opening on Sundays. This happened during checks that were carried out over five days in cooperation with the police, customs and the youth welfare office. “>WDR reports that 100 kiosks were checked, where kiosk owner Farman Schechkheder complained about the new restrictions on the sale of confectionery, food and toys.

In Mönchengladbach, the kiosks have been closed on Sundays since the controls, which will certainly have an impact on the operators. These generate a large part of their sales on the days with the highest sales, Sunday. On average, the sales of a kiosk are between 50,000 and 80,000 euros per month - not exactly generous when you consider that the profit margins for paints such as cigarettes and sweets are only a few cents. This means that operators are even more dependent on sales on Sundays.

The shop opening law in focus

The shop closing law in North Rhine-Westphalia, which has been in force since 2006, only allows opening on Sundays in a few exceptional cases, such as for florists, bakeries or gas stations. Normal shops are only allowed to open their doors in the train station or at the airport, while the Ruhr area apparently has no problems with open kiosks so far. In fact, it turns out that the Cologne business community reports laxer controls in the cathedral city, which leads to the question: Is the public order office in Cologne perhaps too lax?

“We are increasingly receiving complaints about violations of the shop opening law,” says Dirk Rütten from the city of Mönchengladbach, making it clear that a lack of staff in the public order office makes controls more difficult. This could also have an impact on other cities. The city administration is therefore forced to consider stricter monitoring measures.

New perspectives for kiosks?

The ruling of the Münster Higher Administrative Court from February 2025 offers an interesting perspective, which states that vending machine kiosks are allowed to open on Sundays. However, they are also allowed to offer food and other prohibited goods. Kiosks that are considered drinking halls and have two sales rooms could also open on Sundays, which could be a way for operators to protect their income.

The trade associations have been calling for an amendment to the shop opening law for a long time. In order to enable kiosk owners to survive on the days with the highest sales, the existing regulations would have to be adjusted. However, the move is met with resistance from churches and unions like Verdi, who are opposed to lifting the ban on Sunday sales. So far there are no significant political signals that indicate an impending change.

In Cologne, the topic may be covered in the Düsseldorf local time, as WDR is planning to report on June 25, 2025. It remains exciting to see whether kiosk operators will soon be able to open their doors on Sundays again or whether the regulations will remain in place for the time being. In any case, the excitement among small retail operators remains high, while the discussion about store opening times is in full swing.