Because "celebrity favorite" (The Greenhouse-chain would be in the same category) isn't necessarily a sign for the type of quality I'm looking for, other than good marketing. And not what locals who know the subculture prefer in something that would make a great Coffeeshop. ;)
While I have to agree that the original Dampkring is an okay shop which is mainly famous for its "Ocean's 12" scene with George Clooney, Dampkring 2 at Haarlemerstraat really is horrible, esp. regarding totally lazy and arrogant staff who don't care at all about the customer.
And an absolute no-go is an overly aggressive bouncer that once nearly punched a friend of mine in the face the moment he entered the shop. It was due to sunglasses he had to wear after an eye-surgery. Without warning the bouncer startet yelling, bumping my friend against the chest and started to backswing his fist to punch him within split-seconds.
Obviously sun-glasses aren't allowed in there and not even the explanation of the medical condition calmed down the asshole of a bouncer.
So due to the fact that Damkring is just an average shop and not misleading people into thinking Dampkring 2 would be okay too due to its similar name, I decided to not put it on the list at all. There would be like 5-10 shops more, that should make it on the list before Dampkring, imho.
Tweede Kamer I mentioned, is a spin-off of Dampkring, offers nearly the same products (esp. the top-quality Rifman hashes!), has a nice atmospher and isn't that touristy. So imho the far better choice.