After 43 years, Pierre and Anneloes van den Bosch (both 61) say goodbye to their beloved greengrocer’s lettuce in Alkmaar’s city center. Although they are still a few years away from their AOW, they choose to stop earlier because of their health. “We think it’s a shame, but it’s no different,” says Anneloes.
The store, located on the corner of Fnidsen and Hekelstraat, has been a household name in Alkmaar for more than fifty years. Once it started as a candy store, but under the leadership of Pierre and Anneloes it grew into a popular fruit and vegetable shop.
The pair met each other in primary school, but only at the age of seventeen did the spark skip. “At first I had linked him to a friend, but when that went out, I started to find him more nicer. And so it became something between us,” Anneloes recalls Mediapartner Streekstad Centraal.
Store is their home
Pierre already worked in the greengrocer of his uncle and finally took over. “We decided to get married immediately and live above the store. Not romantic, but very practical,” says Pierre laughing. They lived above it until twenty years ago and consider the store as their home.
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In the 43 years that they ran the case, they have experienced a lot. In 1996 they renovated the store, but that didn’t work out well. “We made it too luxurious, and that drove the customers away. We learned that you should keep a store with fresh trade as simple as possible. The products should do the work, not the luxury casing,” Pierre explains.
Enjoy old age together
The two would have preferred to continue working for a few years, but their health allows that less and less. Because they also want to enjoy a nice old age together, it seemed wise to stop now. They decided to sell it, because Pierre was not optimistic that there would be a candidate to take over the business. “Who is still willing to work eighty hours a week nowadays?”
And as soon as that knot had been made, it went fast: the shop was sold for the broker really had to take action. On July 1, the Alkmaar’s city center is a facial defining shop poorer.
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A group of real estate investors has taken over the building and will first thoroughly renovate it. What kind of store will come in afterwards is not yet known. It seems almost certain that it is no longer a fruit and vegetable shop. In the meantime, the employees Monica, Thijs and Kersten are looking for new work.
Saying goodbye is a big step, but Pierre and Anneloes are positive about the future. “I’m really looking forward to finally having a weekend really free,” says Pierre. “Or to celebrate my birthday on the day itself, without the matter always calling. It’s a new chapter, and we’re ready.”