Last round in ancient Cafe Spaarndam: “Time to come and time to go”

What a picture, the harbor of Spaarndam. The sun reflects the ancient houses. The only sound comes from the ducks chasing each other in front of the antique lock. Not far from the oldest lock in Europe is perhaps the oldest café in the Netherlands.

Leon and Yvette

Inside it is busy for a Tuesday afternoon. In any case, busier than usual, because they are usually closed on Tuesdays. Dozens of regular pub goers walk in to say goodbye to ‘their’ Leon and Yvette. The couple just keeps it dry. They’re trying to keep the emotion out today.

“Only tomorrow when it’s really over will we shed a tear,” says Leon. Many regular guests have brought a present. Various friends and visitors are present this afternoon for a last round of coffee, beer or a bitter. The skippers used to drink their ‘pikketanussie’ there, but this afternoon it was mainly local residents, walkers, cyclists and pleasure boaters who moored in the harbor for a snack.

Owner Leon van Lieshout regrets that the brown pub is closing. He says to regular bartender Ruut: “It is no different. We had to incur too many costs, the corona period did not help, staff was difficult to find and the adjustments to the harbor quay meant that we were in too much noise for a year.”

The fact that the ancient café at Westkolk 10 is closing has not gone unnoticed. Yvette could be heard on the radio and today two young ladies from the United States had come especially to the special catering facility on the water. They had read about this café and wanted to see it, not yet knowing that the place where they ordered a coffee had been opened for the last time.

Leon van Lieshout, who runs the café together with Yvette, started in 1991 as a pub owner. As a 16-year-old young man, he regularly came by to ‘meet’ with his friends. Ruut van Schie is one of those friends, and he was always present at such meetings.

He was also behind the tap in the café and was happy that Leo was going to run the place. “Those meetings first started in the afternoon with an occasional game of billiards, but the older we got, the more fun it became of course. Until the late hours.”

Leon also remembers those years well. “It’s just a beautiful pub, still! I’ve always enjoyed standing behind the bar here. Until before the corona time it was busy and it was going great. I think that is still possible! Only it has become less during the corona time This summer it was still busy, but we regularly couldn’t get staff. Often the two of us had to serve all customers, including those on the terrace.” Yvette adds: “That cost me two extra pairs of shoes every summer. That’s how many meters we made.”

Farewell song

Grietje Besteman is one of the regular customers. She came by with a couple of friends to have another drink at the regular table. Grietje: “It’s such a shame, there was always atmosphere here in the only pub in the village. We will miss that.”

Together with a group of friends, Grietje wrote and sang a special farewell song during the last day of the café. “You know what’s also so much fun,” says Grietje. “Many people came here for a walk with the dog. And the dog walked in far ahead, then he or she got three dog biscuits and the owner took a drink. Really so cozy. We will really miss something like that.”

Ancient atmosphere

Leon will come by again after today to clean up some stuff. Two rented slot machines have already been removed this morning. The billiards will remain for a while and the furnishings will also be kept for a few months.

“We are located next to the oldest lock in Europe,” explains Leon. “That lock is even older than the pub. Guests drive tens of kilometers to be here. If there is no new owner in a few months, it will become a house. That would be a shame, because the atmosphere here is actually centuries old. “