Local News in Brief: Saluting the contribution of the pizza man

In other news, after a leave of absence new rhinos and McDonald’s are popping up around town again

Oct 6, 2017

Denmark likes people who deliver pizzas. When Inger Støjberg, the integration minister, urged citizens to report pizza workers to the authorities who they suspected might be potential illegal immigrants, there was uproar. Many shared the hashtag #anmeldenpizzabager, which shot up to number one on Twitter’s trending list for Denmark, as the pizza resistance went into overdrive. And now Just Eat has launched the Danish Take Away Awards to recognise the invaluable contribution they, and other takeaway outlets, make to society. Saluting the nation’s takeaway heroes, the nation has until October 31 to nominate their favourite takeaway restaurant. Our nominee is Michele Lucarelli, whose project ‘Bike and Bake’ saw him make pizzas on the streets on his custom-made cargo bike. Last year he delivered a Margherita to Queen Margrethe II at Amelienborg and received a thank you note. Cast your votes here.

New city centre restaurant for McDonald’s
McDonald’s is opening a large restaurant in Industriens Hus, the prominent building with a glass facade located on the corner of Vesterbrogade and Rådhuspladsen – its first outlet in the city centre since it closed its premises on Strøget last December. A previous McDonald’s location across the road on Vesterbrogade shut down three years ago. The new restaurant, which will open in early 2018 and need 100 new employees, will have a 260 sqm upstairs section and be open 24 hours a day. Operated by experience McDonald’s franchiser Christian Buhl Jørgensen, it will use a new system in which the food is prepared on the first floor and then transported down to the ground floor via rails.

Rhinos likes buses: in appearance as well as regularity
Just weeks after the birth of a white rhino calf at Givskud Zoo, the first in Denmark since 2006, Copenhagen Zoo is expecting two more of the rare calves – one imminently and one sometime in the new year. The news completes a turnaround for the endangered species at the zoo, which in 2012 had to cut its losses with a male that had failed to impregnate any of its females. The punishment was a new home in Hungary.

Finding jobs for the asylum-seekers quickly
A new employment-orientated integration scheme that aims to quickly find jobs for asylum-seekers is being launched at Trampolinhuset on October 24. With the support of TrygFonden and Tuborgfondet, in collaboration with the consultancy LG Insight, ‘Next Practice’ promises to increase the job prospects of candidates and save participating municipalities time and money.

Allerslev faces further allegations
The deputy mayor for integration and employment, Anna Mee Allerslev, is in trouble again over using premises to host parties without paying the going rate. Shortly after it emerged last month that she used the grand foyer at City Hall to host her wedding reception in August free of charge, Allerslev made a payment of just over 17,000 kroner related to her 30th birthday party in August 2014, which was held at an address on Lindgreens Alle in Amager. This has since drawn attention to how she used the premises free of charge thanks to Øen Murerfirma, a company that has renovation contracts with Copenhagen Municipality and close ties with Allerslev. BT questions whether this contravenes municipal rules prohibiting “gifts” from contracted partners.