Girlfriends breathe new life into Westwoud’s café: “We’re just going to do it!”

Of course Karin Blokker, Thea Bot and Edith Ekelmans know the stories of other catering establishments. Opening a cafe in these times doesn’t seem like an obvious choice. High energy costs, prices that are constantly rising. “We’re just going to do it. Just negotiate well, then you’ll go far”, laughs Karin.

“Of course it could be a reason to stop in the long run,” she says. “But we don’t think about that at all now. We first want to get the barrel back in, with a lot of fun. Bring it on!”, it sounds combative.

Marco and Crista Brandsen were the last owners of De Lindeboom. “They renovated a lot, just before corona broke out. In that respect, we end up in a well-prepared bed,” says Karin. “We celebrated our 50th birthday here with five friends. It was the first party after the renovation, but also the last. Because of corona it was no longer possible for them. Very sad.”

To come in action

The friends got it during a party about the closed cafe and decided to take action. “Thea knew the owner and Edith and I went along with the story. That’s how the ball started rolling. We also wanted to mean something for the village. Of course we have village hall De Schalm, but there really isn’t a brown café in Westwoud. And that is something else. It must become a meeting place again. We think that is important for the village. We hear many enthusiastic reactions and that is why you do it.”

The opening will take place on Saturday, with live music and a bouncy castle for the youth. After that, De Lindeboom will be open every week from Thursday to Sunday. Karin can’t wait. “All three of us are really looking forward to it and we’re just going to do it!”