Späti Talk: Spätis als Dritte Orte?

Berlin has them on every corner, Leipzig goes without saying—but what about Chemnitz? Here, the “Späti” remains more of a place people long for than something taken for granted. Yet it’s precisely in Chemnitz that we see just how much more these little stores offer than beer, snacks, and long hours: Spätis are meeting places, neighborhood anchors, and accessible cultural spaces—third places where people who would otherwise never cross paths can come together.

Just how great the need for them is was recently made clear by a “Späti” tour that took young people from Chemnitz through various neighborhoods—a performative journey through a city where traditional Spätis are few and far between. In addition to snacks, there was one thing above all else along the way: open invitations to engage, conversations, and the question of what young people in Chemnitz are actually missing.

That’s exactly what we’ll be discussing on this panel: What role can Spätis play for young people in Chemnitz? What does it take for a kiosk to become a social hub? And might automated “Späti” kiosks be a smart solution in an aging city with declining student populations—one that could even be adapted to rural areas, as is already being demonstrated in Pößneck, for example?

Panelists: Anna Vogt, co-organizer of the Chemnitz “Späti” tour; Max Müller, who aims to improve the city’s nighttime dining options and keep Chemnitz attractive to young people with his vending machine-based “ZuSpäti”; and Katharina von Storch, who co-founded a Späti project in Chemnitz as a student and brings years of experience in organizing events at cultural venues.

The discussion will be moderated by Aylin Çerik, a young journalist at Salon 5, the youth editorial team of CORRECTIV.

A conversation about nightlife, urban development, and the question of who the city belongs to after stores close.