Matthijs Vinckemöller (right) with his associates Marjorie van der Veen and Ronald Hoeksema. Photo: Jan Willem van Vliet
One of the oldest cafes in Groningen, De Groene Weyde, was festively reopened on Monday.
The brown café that started as De Groene Weyde inn in 1652 has been out of operation for about three years. For a while it seemed that the business would house apartments, but the municipality put a stop to that.
Lunch, dinner and drinks
Catering entrepreneur Matthijs Vinckemöller (restaurant De Biechtstoel, tapas shops Bodega y Tapas) saw music in it. Together with his associates Marjorie van der Veen and Ronald Hoeksema from the Handelsfabriek in Tolbert, he recently transformed the brown café into Stadscafé De Groene Weyde, where it is all about lunch, dinner and drinks.
“It is a city icon that is being restored. In terms of interior, it changes from a brown to a green cafe. It is of course beautifully situated on the Noorderplantsoen.”
The city café is open to the public from Friday, for the time being five days a week (Wednesday to Sunday), but as soon as the staffing is in order, Vinckemöller will open its newest establishment 7 days a week.