The sixth branch of Bodega Y Tapas will open on the shore of the Zuidlaardermeer on Wednesday. The restaurant has room for 150 guests in the summer.
Catering entrepreneur Matthijs Vinckemöller (48) from Groningen opened his first establishment of the tapas restaurant in 2017. It caught on. He now has three branches in Groningen, one in Haren, one in Assen and on Wednesday he will open his sixth at the Zuidlaardermeer in Kropswolde.
64 different dishes
The idea: eat unlimited tapas for 24.95 euros, except on Friday and Saturday. Then it is 27.95 euros. “People can choose from 64 different dishes,” says Vinckemöller. “And there is always something you like,” says his partner Kempe Groenewold (51).
Tapas originate from Spain. There they are eaten at the bar, by a glass cerveza . How Spanish are these tapas still? Vinckemöller: “They don’t eat babi pangang in China either.”
The tapas boat
The sixth location is a special one. Vinckemöller opened the first five restaurants in the centers of Haren, Assen and Groningen. “This is in the middle of the nature of the Zuidlaardermeer,” he beams. So he bought a boat. There is room for forty guests on the ‘Tapas boat’. “They sail for an hour and a half across the Zuidlaardermeer and can enjoy good food and drinks.”
In total, about thirty people work at the new restaurant. There is no shortage of personnel in Kropswolde. “That went pretty smoothly,” says Vinckemöller. “We have people from Kropswolde, Hoogezand and a few from the city of Groningen.”
New in the area
Groenewold lives close to the new restaurant. He had been eyeing the place for ten years. Finally, Vinckemöller tacked. They started working in February. New window frames, new exterior walls, installing insulation. “Of course we had a terrible summer,” says Groenewold. “That made it difficult to do odd jobs outside.”
The duo is into it. “Eating unlimited tapas, without a time slot is not possible anywhere in the area,” says Groenewold. In addition, many tourists come to the lake. Camping Meerwijck built ninety new chalets this spring and Allround Waterport built twenty camper spots. Meanwhile, the first reservations are coming in. Vinckemöller: “We are almost full on Wednesday.”