He couldn’t imagine a better year than last year, when Max Verstappen won the first edition of the returned Zandvoort Grand Prix. Marcel Busscher has been running a lunchroom/café Rabbel in the center of the seaside resort for seven years. And it’s become a mecca for racing fans with all the racing gear on display. But he has now stopped and sold the business.
“We had a great year last year, and now it has been beautiful.” Marcel uses huge pliers to cut the chains where oil drums and car tires are attached to a rack on his terrace. The keys are lost and some locks are completely rusted.
On the Kerkplein it was always clear where to go if you wanted to have lunch in a racing atmosphere. But that is in the past. New owners are starting with a clean slate, so Marcel will be packing all the racing gear for the next few days. It is a true museum.
racing gear
“Look, gloves from Max. Well, a replica of course.” He carefully removed them from the display case. Helmets, model cars, complete racing outfits on mannequins and many posters and photos. It all goes in boxes to his own house. Until he may find a smaller cafe in Zandvoort to display it there on a smaller scale.
One of the valuable items that he cannot take with him is the mural by artist Mark Beerepoot, specially made for Rabbel. In his mind Marcel is already working on a catering facility on a smaller scale, and secretly hopes that Mark will make something for him again. “But he won’t be so happy with me that I stop now. Fortunately, the new owners will keep this painting alive for a while.”