In
“It started with my grandparents. My grandfather sold coal and potatoes at home. My grandmother had a vegetable garden and if she had leftover vegetables, they sold them too. It has grown into a grocery store. My father later had a small supermarket and I also wanted to start my own business. When I was twenty-five, I opened a greengrocer’s shop, first in Breda, later in Etten-Leur and now for twenty years in Bavel. The shop I started with was very basic: endive, cauliflower and lettuce. Nowadays I also sell salads, raw vegetables, ready meals, but also red cabbage with apple, which I boil myself with bay leaf and cloves. I’ve been doing this job for thirty-two years, but I won’t get rich. There are uncertainties: recently my bus broke down, which cost me seven hundred euros. For me it’s doable because I’m so short on it and put a lot of time into it. My wife Desiree does have a fixed income, she is an ambulance nurse. It’s a conscious choice not to work together – we like to have our own things. She likes to help patients and I am a greengrocer. For me, the store is more than stuffing the bag with stuff. I also want to pay attention to the customer. I am at the heart of the community and that creates trust. For some customers, who have difficulty walking, I bring the groceries at home, they transfer the money to my account.”
Out
‘The advance on my energy costs has also increased, from seven hundred to fourteen hundred euros. As a result, I live more consciously – I only turn on lights and machines when I need them. Fortunately, the store no longer has a gas connection. The underfloor heating is closed and I cook with a steam oven. My working day really ends when I close the store. After that I don’t think about work anymore. I can separate that very well, almost to the point of naive. I got that from my mother. He said, “Carl, if there’s snow, drop everything and start throwing snowballs—it might not be there tomorrow.” On Monday I have the rehearsal of the pop choir, I am on the board of the entrepreneurs’ association and always participate in carnival. And I mountain bike a lot. I have many projects: thinking about village activities or arranging a concert. Together with the youth association I build the nativity scene on the square and I am Sinterklaas in the village. That’s why I spend a lot on catering: an evening with the carnival organisation, a party at the weekend or a beer on the terrace after mountain biking. That is easily twenty to forty euros each time. But I do think it’s important. Even though I am frugal during the week: we cook a lot with vegetables from the store. I work hard, but I also do a lot of fun things. And when I open the shop door at six in the morning, I’m greengrocer Carl again.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of November 7, 2022