Phuong from the spring roll stall retires after 36 years: ‘I have known some customers since I was little’

Chicken spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce, homemade sambal or vegetarian spring rolls with spicy sauce: who in Zoetermeer didn’t grow up with Phuong’s Vietnamese spring rolls? After more than 36 years, she retires and the snack truck disappears from the city center: “My body is really getting too old now.”

The snack cart with Vietnamese spring rolls has been in the center for almost as long as Stadshart Zoetermeer has existed. Phoeng Quach (67) lets her customers know that she is stopping with a note on the window of her stall. “With mixed feelings, yes. They are all such lovely people who come here.”

‘Children from then now come with their own children’

For most people in line for the snack stall, it is a regular priority: getting a nice warm spring roll with or without sauce when visiting the Stadshart. “I’ve been coming here since I was young,” says one boy during our interview with Phuong. “Where should we go if we can no longer get spring rolls here,” a girl wonders. “Then I’ll go to the Mac or something.”

Phuong hears the reactions with mixed feelings. “I have so many regular customers who have been coming here for years. I know some of them from the past, when they came with their parents in the pram to get a spring roll. Now the children from back then are bringing their own children here.”

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Prepared in the garage

Phuong lives in the Rokkeveen district where she has a small kitchen in her garage at home. “I make my own spring rolls there, but also fresh sauce and other Vietnamese snacks.” Not only the spring rolls but also the pots of homemade sambal are selling like hot cakes. During our visit, a lady orders four jars of sambal: “I heard that the spring roll cart is closing down, so I’m stocking up on some supplies. It’s really a shame that she’s leaving.”

Where should we go when there are no more spring rolls?

It’s gone

Phuong has a daughter, but she has other plans for the future and is therefore not taking over her mother’s spring roll stall. “I have a sister with a spring roll stall in Zoetermeer,” says Phuong. “It’s hard work and it can be very cold in my car. My body can no longer handle that well.”

Phuong will remain with her stall in the Stadshart until Sunday, December 31. But she suspects she will stop sooner given the small stock she has left. “I think I can still sell snacks for two days, but after that it will stop. I won’t make any more, so this means that Saturday December 23 and Tuesday December 26 or Wednesday December 27 will be my last days here. It’s really gone.” So if you want to enjoy your favorite spring roll again: pay a quick visit to the Stadshart.