After about four months of being empty, new life is being breathed into Kwalitaria Borger. The snack bar closed this summer after a disagreement between the previous owners and their staff.
Kasper Smit, resident of Borger, bought the property together with Henk Posthumus from Delfzijl. The doors will open again at the beginning of December under the new name Cafetaria Borger.
Smit lives less than a hundred meters from the catering business. “I was annoyed that the place was empty. It’s a golden tent, I thought to myself. It’s only been made a mess this summer.”
Smit refers to last July, when eight employees resigned in one day. The employees and the two owners at the time were in conflict with each other about wage and contract agreements. After the exodus, there were two options left: to dig up new staff if necessary or to sell them. The choice fell on the latter.
Smit then decided to buy ‘that toko’. The entrepreneur has owned a security company and currently runs five daycare centers. Variety is no stranger to him. He has no catering experience, but he likes a challenge, he says.
According to Smit, the deal was then quickly closed. “I made them an offer and within a week we agreed.” Smit and Posthumus then thoroughly swept the broom through the eatery. The Qualitaria franchise has been said goodbye. “We want to go our own way.”
The workforce is now back to normal. “We have now managed to find twelve employees.” Smit also wants to tackle the interior, but that will have to wait until after the turn of the year. “First we open things up. And I have no doubt that we will turn in sales.” He thinks Borger is also happy with the reopening. “Because there aren’t many snack bars in the region.”
Smit himself is not too much to be found in the new cafeteria. As manager, Rowan Schijff will take the lead. Smit has mainly invented a role in the background for himself. But if necessary, he also likes to bake fries, he adds with a laugh. “If you have to, then you have to, of course.”