Owner Peter de Bie would have preferred to walk into the flames of the building last night to see if he could still fight the fire. It’s that the fire brigade stopped him. De Bie then has to passively watch for the second time in his life as his beach pavilion Beach Inn is completely destroyed by a fire. In 2012, the IJmuiden beach bar was completely reduced to ashes.
For the second time in his life, beach bar owner Peter de Bie sees his business destroyed by flames – NH News
De Bie was lying in bed last night when his wife called him because of ‘a lot of light’ and then urged him to get out. The couple lives a stone’s throw from the beach pavilion. When the beach bar owner looks towards his business with his own eyes, he sees smoke. “This is not possible, this is not possible,” De Bie recalls what he thought at the time. “This can’t happen to you again.”
“It looks like a bomb has fallen on it”
About five hours later, there is nothing left of what was declared ‘most sustainable beach bar in the Netherlands’ last year, except one smoking pile. “It looks like a bomb has fallen on it,” is how a passerby describes the battlefield. “It’s terrible,” said a lady who saw her reservation for a Christmas dinner at the beach bar go up in smoke. “It was such a beautiful pavilion, so nice and cozy always. It’s just sad.”
Extra floor
After the devastating fire in 2012, de Bie and his family built a completely new pavilion. In 2020, another floor was built on top for parties and celebrations. “It has only been open for two years,” says manager Youri Groszenipper. “We are in shock for a moment. We don’t know what will happen now.”
“I would retire, but that’s not an option now”
While the pavilion staff, who have now arrived, seek support from each other and look in bewilderment at the destroyed building, owner De Bie realizes that the fire has taken a rough turn for his near-future plans. “I would pass the Beach Inn on to my children,” said de Bie. “Next week we were going to go to the notary. I was going to retire, but I understand that is not an option now.”