From sandwich shop to chic restaurant and brown café, the entire catering industry in Veldhoven-Dorp is prospering at chip machine manufacturer ASML. “It’s not normal,” says pub owner Leon in den Kleef of café De Locht. “35 years ago you only had the Greek and Java Jive. Those were the only two restaurants. Now there are nine in Veldhoven-Dorp. It has grown enormously.”
“My girlfriend works at Oakwood restaurant. It’s just full throttle every day. Bizarre. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Monday, Tuesday or Friday or Saturday. They have 150 seats there. They are all expats. Almost everyone who comes in is wearing a backpack and has a card on their pants.”
The bar owner should know. He lives in Veldhoven-Dorp and his pub has been there for thirty years. “You never see Asians in the café, but the English, Scots and Irish who work at ASML like this.” In den Kleef was the chairman of the Royal Horeca Netherlands in Veldhoven for many years and is sometimes called ‘the second mayor’.
“For 1,800 euros per month they can simply be placed somewhere temporarily.”
At least 18,000 people work at ASML in Veldhoven every day. According to In den Kleef, restaurants are happy to come to Veldhoven-Dorp. “ASML has great appeal. There are always a few hundred who have a drink, a department party or something else. When you have so many people, there is of course something to do every evening.”
The streets where catering establishments such as the Truffelaer and De Beurs used to be, now have establishments with international names. Restaurants and eateries were given names that would not be out of place in an international metropolis: The Brand, Oakwood, Brown’s lunch club, Smokey Blinders, Quisine, Saint Tropez, Reverie, Delicious Dinners.
The pub owner believes that ASML’s growth is good for entrepreneurs. “Not only the catering industry. Also clothing stores, the bakery, the butcher. Everyone benefits from it. The middle class will not complain about it. Expats will also be staying in hotels in the beginning. For 1,800 euros per month they will simply be temporarily placed somewhere put down.”
“We get a good living out of it.”
Lars van Ballegooijen is co-owner of sandwich shop Two-B in Veldhoven-dorp, about a kilometer from ASML. The chip machine manufacturer even knows where to find him during the holidays: then he can provide hundreds of packed lunches for the employees. He notices that a lot has changed in recent years. “Many expats from ASML walk here during lunch. And in our business a lot of orders are placed in English. That wasn’t the case ten years ago.”
It is clear that the business is running well: every seat is occupied around lunchtime. “About a quarter of our customers work at ASML. It is not the case that we would no longer exist without ASML, but we make a good living from it.”
Would you like to share your story about the changes in Veldhoven with us? Omroep Brabant will be in the d’n Bond village hall at Rapportstraat 29 in Veldhoven from Monday, November 13 to Thursday, November 16. You can also email us at [email protected] or app us on 040-2949492.
