Life in the vortex in Spaarndam is bustling again. It was quiet for months at the oldest lock in the Netherlands. There has also been a pub there since 1571, but the previous owner Leon had to stop due to some setbacks. And there was no successor. Until Kees Heger discovered it and did not let the café close down after 450 years of existence.
The oldest gully lock is a bit too slick after the renovation. The quay has been reinforced and now looks sleek. According to the residents, this could have a more lived-in look. But when the pub at the tip of the vortex near the lock is closed, the heart is out of the soul. The villagers were worried about that, because it took a long time before a new operator showed up.
“We really kept our fingers crossed, because it kept closing and it kept closing,” says neighbor Johanna of the adjacent Art Center Spaarndam in the report below.
restart
Not only will the café be given a new lease of life, it will also be a new start for catering entrepreneur Kees Heger. For twenty years he ran a similar old café in Heemstede. And he too had to leave his place behind the bar due to some headwind. But Kees has found his feet again after a quiet year in paid employment.
“The more you know yourself, the more peace you have to undertake.” Deciding for himself how a café operates, that’s what he likes best. And that the café is a place for villagers as well as cyclists, boat people and other tourists, is something Kees really likes.
‘Welcome home’
Despite a small adjustment here and there in the café (read: the removal of a lot of memorabilia that the previous owners Leon and Yvette had standing and hanging everywhere), the regular guests soon feel at ease again. “Leon always said ‘welcome home’ when you came in. And that’s how it felt,” says Johanna. And that’s still the case, she thinks, taking a sip of her beer while the new pub owner lights the candles in the background.