Say Pierrot and almost every inhabitant of Emmen knows what you are talking about: a café in the center. The pub closed its doors last year, but recently there has been movement in the building again. Martijn Moes (32) is going to start a new café, Bar Hop 1.6.
The smokehouse gone, a new layer of paint on the walls and a ceiling that has been taken care of. In recent weeks, a lot has happened in the café building where Pierrot could be found for years. Martijn Moes looks around, hands on hips. “We are making progress, but we are not there yet. We still have to work on the floor, the bar and of course the interior. And oh yes, the billiards. There’s no room for that anymore, we’ll get that out.”
Moes has a lot of experience in the hospitality industry, but he has never stood on his own two feet in this industry. That will change: in the course of next month he will open the doors of his own café, Bar Hop 1.6, at the Matissepassage. The name is not a reference to the famous café Hoppe in Amsterdam, but to an important component of beer. ,,We want to distinguish ourselves, including with specialty beers”, explains Moes. The addition 1.6 has something to do with the house number. “That’s 16, but to prevent people from thinking it’s a youth box, we’ve only made it 1.6.”
Immediately enthusiastic
The building on the square where Jeweler Majkowski used to be located, was empty. Almost a year ago, Bert Cremers and Coby Reening closed the doors of café Pierrot behind them. The duo, who ran the café business from 1995 and previously worked there as an employee of pub owner Piet Fokkema, stopped because of their age. When Moes’ plans to start something for himself in Emmen became more concrete, former Pierrot naturally also came into the picture. “I was immediately excited about it. The location is beautiful and easily accessible. And in the near future, the area will be refurbished and made greener.”
Moes worked many hours in the catering industry at the restaurants in the Noorder Dierenpark and at the buffet restaurant De Warrel in Westerbork. He was also a cook on a ship for a while. Will he also cook in his new café? No, at least not extensively. We will be serving finger food, or delicacies that you can eat with your hands. Think of a shelf with, for example, meat snacks, cheese, chicken wings and spare ribs. Hamburger? Yes, we’re still thinking about that. But it certainly doesn’t get much more extensive in terms of food.” However, guests are occasionally served something different: a performance by a singer-songwriter or a pub quiz.
Beer sommelier
In the case, Moes will work together with his comrade Grieko van der Sluis (27), who mainly has experience in security. Frank Tapper was hired because of his knowledge of specialty beers. The 37-year-old Tapper is the only beer sommelier in Southeast Drenthe and will work bar shifts and hold beer tastings in Bar Hop 1.6. Tapper worked for many years in Emmen at café Groothuis and then, also in Emmen, was the manager of café De Gouden Leeuw for a short time. Tim de Vries (19) from Emmen, who, like Van der Sluis and Tapper, is helping with the renovation, will also be working in the new café.
Bar Hop 1.6 will be open every day of the week, says Van der Sluis. From when exactly? Tapper: ,,That depends on when all permits are received.” Moes nods. “But it won’t be long now. We think we can open for the first time between 5 and 19 May. With a terrace? Yes, with brand new umbrellas. They were delivered today.”