Today at 2:12 PM • Updated today at 2:52 PM
Nico and Sonja Boreas will permanently close the door of their star restaurant Sabero in Leende on January 1, 2027. This marks the end of a long career in Dutch gastronomy, in which the couple was active at the highest culinary level for 26 years.
“After 26 years, it is sometimes nice to be able to go to a party on Saturdays,” says Sonja Boreas between dozens of phone calls. “Since the news that we are closing has been announced, many regular guests have been calling who want to make three or four more reservations until the end of the year. They are all very sad that we are closing.”
“The love for food and our dear guests has not disappeared.”
Nico and Sonja have been running their restaurant with great pleasure and passion all this time. “Now it is time for a new phase. The love for food and our dear guests has not disappeared. It is time to do something different,” says Sonja.
They opened Sabero in Leende three years ago and received a Michelin star there. Previously, the restaurant was located in Roermond for five years and received two Michelin stars there, just like in the previous restaurant in Heeze, where they were there for a total of eighteen years.
“We want to see what else we can do in life.”
The couple is certainly not going to sit still. “We are still far too young for that, we are both 58 and want to see what else we can do in life.” Sonja doesn’t know yet what that is exactly. “Maybe we can advise others with our years of experience. Doing something completely different is not an option if you have worked in the catering industry all your life.”
The restaurant is now in the house where Sonja and Nico also live. “This building is much too big if we no longer have a restaurant, so the building in Leende will be for sale. People have asked if we go back to Maastricht, where I grew up. Nico grew up in Valkenburg. But we would prefer to live a little smaller and stay in Heeze-Leende.”
