An apartment complex will be built on the site of the former hotel-restaurant De Wolfshoeve in Schoonebeek. At least this is the plan of Jan Braam, owner of the well-known catering building.
After a major renovation in the spring of 2019, Braam opened a new catering company in the former Wolfshoeve: inn De Witte Olifant. The doors have been locked there since December last year. “It is not possible to find enough staff, there is a great shortage of cooks in particular,” says Braam. Because there are no prospects for this situation to improve quickly, Braam wants to take a completely different tack in the oil village: the catering building against the plain and apartments in its place.
Any hotel
“When I bought the building in 2019, the long-term intention was to build apartments at this location. But given the current situation, it is advisable to move these plans forward. In this way, the building is of no use to anyone”, says Braam. If the plans go through, it means the end of an era. The hotel-restaurant with conference center on Europaweg dates from 1954 and is the only hotel in Schoonebeek. The construction at the time had everything to do with oil extraction and thanks to the NAM, the company achieved top turnover.
Between 1977 and 2006, the business was run by Albert Steenwijk and after that the company was mainly noticed because new operators kept coming up. The name De Wolfshoeve was maintained until Braam acquired the property in 2019. He modernized the complex, expanded the number of hotel rooms from thirteen to sixteen and nailed a sign with the text Herberg De Witte Olifant on the facade. That name was not chosen randomly. In the center of Klazienaveen, the Emmenaar has been running diner café De Witte Olifant for several years.
Positive
Braam did not have the tide in the oil village afterwards. Shortly after the opening, part of the Europaweg was impassable due to reconstruction. After that, corona shut down the company for months. “It was a real setback. But if there had been enough staff, the business would certainly not have closed at the end of last year,” says Braam. The man in his fifties has approached architectural design and consultancy firm Walda from Zwartemeer to make a design for an apartment complex to be built. “The first contacts with the municipality have been made and they are positive.”
If there is still an enthusiast who wants to buy the hotel restaurant and continue it as a catering company, Braam is also open to that. ,,Provided, of course, that I get the amount I want for it.” Dinercafé De Witte Olifant in the center of Klazienaveen is open as usual and, according to Braam, it is running properly. Former manager Tiffany Alberts (28) has been co-owner since the beginning of this month. “The intention is that she will take over completely in the long term. But in the coming years I will certainly remain involved in the case in Klazienaveen”, says Braam.