A PostNL delivery person drags three fully loaded carts from a white van. The dozens of packages hurtle towards Gelukszaak Bekker in a string. A poltergeist-like Sinterklaas doll waves from the window of the convenience and tobacco store.
Inside, the delivery person directs the carts past the carousels with greeting cards and a line of customers who want to post their packages. Jennifer Schorel (30) and Natasja Doets (53) greet the delivery person from behind a wall of boxes. “This is a regular occurrence, every day he comes here with three carts. In the evening three more go back,” says Natasja. With a scanner in hand, Jennifer works her way through the mountain of cardboard: “You can no longer walk here around Black Friday.”
Owner Chris Bekker (56) is also behind the counter. The store has been in the family for 115 years and is a household name in Heemskerk. Brother Henk Bekker has a men’s hair salon at the back of the business. Fourteen years ago Chris started with the postal service. “A global business with the service of a village shop,” says Chris. That’s what a regular customer once called the store, Chris agreed.
Today Natasja is handling the queue of customers who want to post something. Dennis Sanders (51) has a fishing webshop and comes to Gelukszaak Bekker every day. “I see the ladies here more often than my own family,” says Dennis. He casually throws an envelope on Natasja’s scales and grabs his receipt from behind the cash register.
“A global business with the service of a village shop,” a customer once said. Chris agreed
A woman in a red raincoat talking about the weather. In one fluid movement, Chris pulls out the wall of smoking materials and tears a scratch card from a roll. “Yes, we know each other well. This lady was ten when my father put that Sinterklaas doll in the shop window sixty years ago,” says Chris. The woman throws three cans of Panther cigars into her shopping trolley and leaves.
Six months ago, Chris put a stop to the number of incoming packages from PostNL: no more than a hundred per day. “It destroyed the store, and so did we,” says Jennifer. Almost half of the packages are also returned, Jennifer sees. “People don’t think anymore, I receive orders from Holland & Barrett here, they are our neighbors. Then you might as well go to that store.” She has almost used up the three carts and is about to have lunch.
Photos Simon Lenskens
In a messy room of one and a half square meters, Jennifer spreads a sandwich with truffle mayonnaise and a mountain of smoked meat. On the narrow bar there is a Senseo machine and three bottles of bleach. There is a folding stool against a white door. ” is Henk’s front door, who lives upstairs. So our canteen is actually two wooden plates nailed together in the middle of the shop. Look, it’s open up there.” Jennifer likes the fact that she can hear what is happening in the store during lunch.
The smoked meat sandwich is also her breakfast. And there is always something to snack on at Gelukszaak Bekker. Jennifer: “Last week, Truus, a regular customer, brought a box of Merci. The next day Chris received a ten euro tip, which we use to get cake.”
Around the holidays, all lotteries send bags of oliebollen to the store. Last year, the winning ticket for the New Year’s Eve draw was sold at Gelukszaak Bekker. 15 million. The staff celebrated all week. Jennifer: “The magnum bottle of Moët is still on the counter, but unfortunately the winner never came forward.”
Netherlands Lunch Section The Company Canteen PostNL parcel point Gelukszaak Bekker.
photo Simon Lenskens
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