Neighborhood café De Koens has permanently closed its doors after 92 years. After the New Year’s Eve party, Marian Claassen (70) and Peer van Kollenburg (68) waved goodbye to the café, which has been a familiar meeting point in the neighborhood for almost a century. “It’s double. We’re going to party now, but by the time everyone leaves, the door really closes for the last time,” says Marian.
Marian worked behind the tap with her husband John Claassen for many years, in addition to her job at Albert Heijn. In 2012 she stopped working in the supermarket to devote herself fully to De Koens. Her husband died a year later of cancer. A few years later, Marian found love again in Peer, who has been running the pub with her ever since.
“It is a café where everyone has a good time. A living room where many people come and many people will really miss it and so will we,” Marian says in a crowded pub on Wednesday evening. She has run De Koens for 26 years, the last few years with Peer. For them, the café is a place full of memories, both beautiful and sad.
“We have a lot of wonderful memories.”
Peer also looks back with pleasure on the many years in De Koens. “Darts clubs, billiards clubs come here, parties are held and bands perform,” he says. “But at some point you start to think about yourself a bit. We are also getting older.”
They look ahead to their future: “First we have to ensure that the café is empty, and then we will go on holiday after the carnival. Normally we can never go away for long, but now we can just think about ourselves for three to four weeks,” says Peer.
“This really is the best café in Eindhoven.”
The cafe was full of partying people on New Year’s Eve. Theo Teeuwsen, a regular guest of De Koens for 60 years, sits at the bar. “I’m the oldest customer here,” he says. Saying goodbye is difficult for him.
As he thinks back on all those years, his eyes shine and he becomes visibly emotional. “I’ve never had an argument here and I always enjoyed the atmosphere. This really is the best café in Eindhoven,” he says convincingly.
Theo looks at Marian and Peer and smiles through his tears. “Marian is my best friend, and Peer is a really nice guy. They have made something special out of it.”
“Had people in tears at the bar.”
The last evening was a big party with 76 invited regulars, but it is also a moment of saying goodbye. “It has really been a madhouse in recent weeks, because they all wanted to say goodbye to café De Koens and that hurts us a bit. We have already had people in tears at the bar,” says Peer.
After closure, the building will be converted into ten tiny houses and apartments. Yet the residents of Eindhoven will not soon forget the café.