You find them mostly in medium and large-sized cities of Germany....mostly in urbanized 'blocks'. Size-wise....mostly 4 meters by 4 meters (rarely larger)....around 172 sq ft.
They mostly sell sodas, beer, candy, newspapers, 'smokes', lotto-tickets and magazines.
Hours? Most open around 7 AM, and closing will occur between 6 and 10 PM.
If you ask the guy/gal running it on profit....they mostly will admit it's enough to sustain a couple....maybe one or two part-time employees.
Folks will come from a block or two away.....to buy a beer....socialize....and swap gossip. Rarely are there chairs or tables set up. It's mostly a standing-situation.
I won't say it's a dying commerce....but if you counted up all the kiosk operations in Frankfurt in 1978....probably only half of them still exist today.
You stop at the window....making your request/order. You never get invited inside. There might be three or four 'lean-stands' where you can sip your beer and swap soccer opinions with an associate. Occasionally, the chatter might get to politics, scandal, TV options tonight, 'Jungle-Camp' BS, some police drama in the city, or some tale of woe over a neighbor.
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