She always has him in sight, the golden chair. Lilly Meier, 32, arrived half an hour early. Wrapped up in her winter jacket, she stands on the sidewalk and waits. She points to the front door: “It says ten o’clock there.” She didn’t know that the pop-up store in “Hall 2” didn’t open until 10:30 a.m. on opening day. Her object of desire: the golden chair in the shop window. “I’m currently moving,” she says, “the chair would fit perfectly into the new apartment.” However, she is not the only one waiting: there is a huge rush.
The Schwabing store is the second of its kind. “Hall 2” is located in Pasing and has served for years as a contact point for people who want to buy well-preserved items cheaply. Presented on 80 square meters, you can now find a lot on Hohenzollernstrasse: chairs, guitars, dishes and a red racing bike. Walter Schellhorn would like to take a closer look at this. The pensioner is already standing in line before the opening and keeps looking through the shop window at the vintage bike. He hoped it was “an Italian”. Schellhorn describes himself as a mechanic and reports on countless bicycles that he has restored. “When I happened to walk past the shop yesterday, I knew I had to take a look at it,” says the Schwabinger.
Munich’s third mayor Verena Dietl (SPD) was also allowed to take a look at the store on Friday. Her first impression: “It turned out very nice.” She is very pleased that the crowd at the opening is so big; you notice the “flea market character”. She was pleasantly surprised that people would buy so much straight away. When a customer wanted to leave the store with a green lamp in her arms, Dietl spoke to the woman: “It’s great, I have it at home too.”
The new store is located on Hohenzollernstrasse.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
There is a lot to discover.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Nikolaus Hosemann examines the records in the new pop-up shop in “Halle 2”. The Schwabinger is an expert when it comes to used goods stores.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Nikolaus Hosemann is standing by the records. He holds a glass of champagne with one hand. With the other he rummages through the boxes, repeatedly pulling out a specimen and examining it. The Schwabinger says he often visits “Halle 2” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/. “For me, rummaging through used goods stores is a kind of distraction.” He is happy that there is now “a shop around the corner from me.” Hosemann didn’t purchase a new record for his collection on opening day, “but that’s not a big deal.”
Municipal representative Kristina Frank is “flattered” by the store. You can tell that the employees of the Munich Waste Management Company (AWM), which runs the pop-up shop and “Hall 2”, have put a lot of passion into it. For Frank, it is important to simplify access to AWM’s used goods stores: “This location is perfect for that.” But why should the store only stay until the end of the year? “We want to see if it is well received before we commit.” Frank gives an outlook on potential new “locations”: “There is no such business in the east of Munich so far,” she says.
After a few minutes, Walter Schellhorn leaves the pop-up store again. “Unfortunately no Italian racing bike,” he says, “but I’ll definitely be back.”