{"id":791478,"date":"2026-10-04T07:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T07:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/791478\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T07:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T07:46:08","slug":"we-are-in-a-kind-of-war-row-over-viral-amsterdam-chip-shop-lands-in-court-tiktok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/791478\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We are in a kind of war\u2019: row over viral Amsterdam chip shop lands in court | TikTok"},"content":{"rendered":"

People living in one of Amsterdam\u2019s most exclusive neighbourhoods have taken the city to court for licensing a chip shop that has gone viral on TikTok<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018It has polluted the whole area\u2019 \u2026 Thomas van Leeuwen, who lives near to Fabel Friet.<\/p>\n

On busy days, the queue for Fabel Friet on Runstraat stretches across a bridge on the Keizersgracht \u2013 one of Amsterdam\u2019s most famous canals \u2013 a court was told last week. The narrow street itself is crowded by tourists waiting for their orders seven days a week. And loitering with intent \u2013 on parked cars, on the street itself, and on steps and porches \u2013 gulls wait to swoop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in a kind of war where a very unwelcome chip shop has polluted the whole area,\u201d said Thomas van Leeuwen, who lives nearby. \u201cEating in the street is a shameful behaviour. It gets filthy food on our doorsteps and mayonnaise in the beautiful stone. The herring gulls have moved in as residents, and the worst thing is the rat infestation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nineteen neighbours have formally protested against the business licence for Fabel Friet, whose signature product is fries topped with parmesan cheese and truffle mayonnaise. Niek van der Heijden, the lead plaintiff, said the problem was the takeaway\u2019s small size.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we call the \u2018TikTok queue\u2019 for Fabel Friet causes the most nuisance,\u201d he said. \u201cThe business takes place on the street: waiting to order, waiting to be served, eating. We want Fabel to go to a place where there is enough room to have clients inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a packed courtroom on Tuesday morning, a lawyer for Amsterdam city council acknowledged that the city\u2019s mayor, Femke Halsema, can refuse a licence to operate if the \u201cresidential and living environment\u201d is negatively affected by a business.<\/p>\n

Niek van der Heijden, the lead plaintiff in the case. Photograph: Judith Jockel\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

While the chip shop, she said, sticks to its licence obligations to manage the queue and clear litter \u201cit has been going on for a long time, the impact remains severe, and you have to ask: how long can we tolerate this?\u201d For the current licence, she said, the city would be guided by the court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

The shop\u2019s owners, Abel Klatser and Floris Feilzer, said they employed a cleaning service seven days a week, four times a day, and that year-on-year visitor numbers had dropped by 23% this August after they opened four new locations<\/a>. \u201cA few neighbours have experienced nuisance, but other people enjoy eating chips,\u201d said Gertjan Teeuwen, their lawyer. \u201cIt can be busy, but there are peaks and troughs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The queue outside Fabel Friet, which occupies a small premises.<\/p>\n

Klatser and Feilzer said in a public statement that they felt unfairly attacked while doing their best to be good neighbours. \u201cFabel Friet is our child, and we have put our heart and soul into it,\u201d they said. \u201cIt is painful if people talk about our business negatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herring gulls have been attracted to the area by the leftovers and waste. Photograph: Judith Jockel\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The case goes beyond irritations about so-called performative tourism, where tourists flock to a place to post images on social media. \u201cThe tiny streets might be charming, but actually the space is not designed for so many people,\u201d said Lisa-Bobbie Kamp, a lawyer for the neighbours. \u201cThis is a question of taking space, who owns the place and whether you can just use public space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marije Peute, a PhD student at the University of Amsterdam, has studied the effects of \u201cviral urbanism\u201d in the neighbourhood. \u201cThe municipality should really think about how they want to act, because this is about the public space. A lot of much older retail spaces have lost their local clients because they don\u2019t want to go there any more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rogier Havelaar, a councillor from the Christian Democratic Appeal party, said that, while Fabel Friet should probably be offered a \u201cflagship store\u201d licence in a more suitable location, the benefits of tourism to the city should not be overlooked. \u201cAmsterdam would never have as many museums, restaurants, going-out spots and theatres if they were only for the residents,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd tourism provides 70,000 jobs. Amsterdam would have a gigantic financial problem if tourism went away.\u201d<\/p>\n

A customer with a portion of Fabel Friet\u2019s signature fries topped with parmesan cheese and truffle mayonnaise. Photograph: Judith Jockel\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Standing on the bridge over the Keizersgracht, some German laboratory apprentices drawn by TikTok were enjoying their chips. Natalie St\u00fcbben said crowd managers had just asked them to move away from people\u2019s houses. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty hard to get through here with a car or just by walking,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we were thinking about annoying the neighbours, but it makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t think we were thinking about annoying the neighbours\u2019 \u2026 Natalie St\u00fcbben.<\/p>\n

Some of those neighbours will be pleased if the business location has had its chips after the court verdict on 12 November. \u201cThere\u2019s something very alarming about the fact that these people are all led by their higher power \u2013 influencers \u2013 and call themselves followers,\u201d said van Leeuwen. \u201cIt\u2019s Orwellian. This court case is part of the parasitic industry that lives on tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n