Groceries are becoming increasingly expensive, extra VAT on soft drinks and municipal taxes are also rising sharply. Many people have to pay more and more attention to their little ones. But is that possible? In our series Duurder Leven, catering man Johan de Greef (59) from Eindhoven explains how he manages to keep the beers attractively priced for his customers.
Johan runs two pubs in the Woensel district in Eindhoven and visits the supermarket every day to replenish the beer supply.
So many crates of beer, how much do you save?
“At the wholesaler, a case of beer is 2.50 euros more expensive than at the supermarket. If I load my cart like this, I save about a hundred euros. It is only beer that I buy here, they do not have spirits They only sell soft drinks here in plastic bottles, we only use glassware.”
Is the café still running well or do you notice that things are becoming more difficult?
“The customers just keep coming. We have about twenty regular customers a day in each pub. That’s why I come here every day to get beer.”
What is the secret of your successful pubs?
“We are cheap. We are about 0.75 cents to one euro cheaper per beer. With us, a bottle of beer costs two euros. We once went up in price, from 1.50 euros to two euros, then not anymore.”
Never considered quitting because everything is so expensive?
“No, we have always continued. I don’t really cut back on my private life either. I just keep doing the same. Holidays continue as usual, I go to the Canary Islands every year.”