De Streekboer, a webshop with fruit and vegetables from local farmers, will open a physical store in the Blokhuispoort in Leeuwarden at the beginning of September.
De Streekboer settles in one of the cells of the former prison, says Monique van Etten. Until a few months ago, she was still the owner of Your Daily Cost, a shop in the Nieuwe Oosterstraat with a similar range to De Streekboer. However, that store had to close its doors because of the rising energy bill.
“This is more or less a restart,” says Van Etten, who is now working at the webshop. ,,When we closed Your Daily Cost, we donated the inventory to De Streekboer, this year winner of the Sustainable Thirty .. So we already had the shop fittings. Although the racks still have to be cut to size to make it all fit.”
Only non-perishable products
Due to the limited space, there is no room for cooling. That is why only non-perishable products are for sale in the store. ,,But that is a surprising amount”, says Van Etten. Customers can buy pasta and jars of jam and honey, among other things. The collection point of the webshop is also located in the store. “It is also a bit for those who come to pick up an order and have forgotten something or want to bring something extra.”
It remains to be seen whether it will actually take off. “I hear from entrepreneurs who are there that mainly tourists come by. That is not quite the target group we are looking for. We need regular customers. We’ll see if they find us.”
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The shop will open on September 5 and will be open from Tuesday to Saturday in the afternoon. Volunteers have to keep it running. “That is our advantage from the past. We still have a large network of people who want to get involved.”
Shops are labor intensive
Whether there will be more physical stores after Leeuwarden, Van Etten does not yet know. “More shops would be fantastic, but it is also very labour-intensive. Let’s first see how it works here. Although I do hope there will be more. I really believe in the physical store. You can tell a little more about a product.”
De Streekboer, founded in Nieuwehorne and now based in Leek, wants to overhaul the food system by shortening the lines between farmer and consumer. Customers can order fruit and vegetable packages from local farmers and growers and pick them up throughout the Northern Netherlands. Delivery is also available in some places.