After 52 years in the chip business, Jan Haen (67) is closing his iconic business in Udenhout. Three generations have been in the business since 1902, but on Wednesday the last golden fries will be fried. The whole village comes out for a last fries, hug or selfie. “It’s extremely busy! Great,” says Jan, beaming.
‘Honk for Jan! He’s putting the lid on the pan,” reads a meter-wide banner above the road past the chip shop. Every few minutes loud honking can be heard in the shop. “This has been going on all day,” Jan beams. “I thought it would be a quiet farewell, but it has been extremely busy for weeks. They were outside until yesterday,” he beams. “I did not expect that.”
Flowers or a homemade card: every few minutes a customer comes in with a story. “I thought for a moment about a selfie. I really want to express my appreciation! He is a key figure in the village,” laughs regular customer Jan de Laat, who captures the chip shop for posterity. They are also already queuing around three o’clock on Wednesday afternoon. “That will be an hour’s queue tonight,” Jan predicts.
“A bride and groom came in fully dressed.”
After all these years behind the pan, Jan is also full of golden stories. “A bridal couple entered the shop in full regalia, veil and all. They gave me 20 euros for all the croquettes they had stolen from the vending machine in their younger years. With interest, fortunately,” Jan laughs. “I also received a card from Australia. Someone who had emigrated missed the fries so much.”
A wall with old photos brings melancholy. So the business started in 1902, when Grandpa Henri started a bakery. Father Piet then took over the business. In 1950, a vending machine was added for those going out: only on weekends. Later the bakery disappeared and became a cafeteria. “I worked for my parents for almost ten years and took over the business in 1981,” he says proudly near the photo wall. Since then, almost nothing has changed in the interior.
“One hundred hours a week in the business.”
“I used to work a hundred hours a week in the business. Even now I still work 75 hours,” continues the senior chip maker. “It’s becoming less and less physically possible, you have to work very quickly in our profession. So it’s a mixed feeling. You have to draw the line under it at some point.”
The customers of Cafetaria ‘t Haantje are more than complimentary about their Jan. One of them orders twenty frikandels. “Then it’s okay, the last time,” he laughs. “The tastiest fries in the area! I’m going to miss him. No one can match Jan’s delicious fries,” says regular customer Janneke Leeijen. Simon Janssens: “He calculates everything in his head. A nice man with passion.”
“I still eat fries every day.”
Jan has no children and a successor has not been found. “I’ll apply for a job when I’m bored,” he says jokingly. Then why not buy an Airfryer for your home? “I don’t think so! Fries have to come from the deep fryer! I still like to eat fries every day.”
