Café Amicitia on Noorderstationsstraat has recently been put up for sale. The current manager Klaas Dekker, who has run the cafe together with his daughter Miranda for eight years, is stopping for health reasons. According to the Dekkers, the target date to stop is November 1.
The Beginning of Amicitia
“It all started in November 2010 at the Boterdiep. I had just sold my chip shop and was looking for something new. A friend told me that the living room cafe Amicitia was for sale. He dropped out but I persevered with Miranda. I had worked at PTT Post for years and had just been working as a French fries farmer for six months. Together with my wife Willy we visited the cafe a few times. And a little later I was a bar owner," Klaas says this Thursday afternoon, just before the first customers trickle in at the Amicitia.
Before the 'old' Amicitia opened on November 1, 2010, with Klaas and Miranda at the helm, Miranda was executive secretary. From day one, she was behind the bar like it was nothing. “I was very timid, but that went away quickly. If you stand behind the bar in a cafe like the Amicitia, you quickly get to know the people and the customs. You change that. I really didn't have such a big mouth as I have now – haha!”.
“We have always had a very broad audience. There's a lot going on here. From handymen to retirees and also a relatively large number of women. From all walks of life. For example, Midas Dekkers was once on a Sunday afternoon at the old Amicitia. He first had a few drinks, chatted and then went to a lecture. He spoke there himself," said Klaas.
“There are people who have found the love of their lives here and are still married. Relationships have been born but also broken. And we had drinks to deceased regulars. Yes, in the last eight years at least forty regular and less regular customers have died,” he continues.
Miranda adds. “What we did regret a few years ago is that we had to leave the Boterdiep. That was such a cozy boudel. Lovely old fashioned lights above the bar and carpet on the floor. And nodding, huh? That often happens here too. Just like a little one, playing darts and billiards”.
“Because I have problems with my health, it is no longer possible to keep the pub running properly. It's not working anymore. We hope for a takeover candidate who wants to continue in the same way. That is good for our customers. When I look back on the last few years, I could write a book about it. We have all shared joys and sorrows. Gained a lot of knowledge of people and experienced a lot, a lot”, concludes Klaas.
