Court says Amsterdam can’t break up customer lines at TikTok-famous store

The city was concerned about street noise and inconvenience to residents.

The city of Amsterdam and a newly established french fry shop recently entered into a legal battle over whether city officials can force the shop to limit the size of the lines of customers that crowd its streets. The fried food store appears to have won its case, with the court ruling that the administration failed to provide strong evidence that the restaurant’s popularity caused residents inconvenience.

The french fry shop, called Fabel Friet, is located on Amsterdam’s Laonstrasse and quickly gained a viral following thanks to a clever marketing campaign on TikTok that showcased locally sourced twice-fried fries. There was a line of customers wanting to try it. The food in question.

The NL Times reported that the line was sometimes extended to a canal bridge near Kaisersgracht. However, city officials were less enthusiastic, arguing that the crowding was causing inconvenience and nuisance to people living on the streets and in the area.

As a result, authorities ordered stores to keep lines to no more than 10 people and to have only one person operating the cash register if more people gathered.

Business Apparently people in Amsterdam love french fries.

However, the city’s order did not make much sense because if the restaurant was a popular one, there would be no reduction in the number of customers even if the restaurant capacity was reduced. That was certainly the position taken by Fabel Fleet’s lawyers, and the court agreed with them.

The judge also noted that Fabel Fleet employed four crowd managers who kept the lines orderly and did not obstruct the road. The store cleans the area of ​​trash every day, including trash that doesn’t belong to the store.

This small business seems to have struck a chord with the Amsterdam public with its fries and toppings (truffle mayo anyone?). Therefore, the best solution may be to open additional stores.