Chris Garrit, together with his partner Alieke Rademaker, was one of the pioneers on the vacant lot near the old sugar factory on the Suikerunie site along the ring road. Together with a handful of other entrepreneurs, he put the area on the map. Intended for anyone who prefers to explore the hustle and bustle outside the Diepenring, and is also looking for something a little different. The Suikerunie Terrain is nice and raw and unpolished, and therefore all the more interesting. A real urban oasis, as they call it, where they like to 'color outside the lines.'

Pop stage
Garrit is a music lover and owner of EM2, a multi-purpose event venue. He missed a good concert hall in Groningen. 'There are halls in Groningen, but I don't always think they are suitable for the music that is played there,' he explains. This was the most important condition when building EM2: that the acoustics had to be optimal. According to Garrit, it had to be a super room.

From the outside, EM2 looks a bit like a shed, but on the inside it has a real industrial character. The wood on the wall is recycled, and everything in the building is sustainable and circular as much as possible. No frills here, but an attractive space. The hall is suitable for about a thousand visitors. In addition to visitors, more and more artists and bookers are also finding the venue. Big names that have been there include La Pegatina, Drukwerk, Vive la Fete and the Fun Lovin Criminals.

Multifunctional
During the week the building can be rented for the business market and suitable for company parties, seminars, weddings and other parties. On weekends there is usually live music, such as concerts, and you can also eat in the restaurant on Saturdays and Sundays. The menu is limited and mainly offers tasty snacks for drinks. Salads, arancini and snack boards. “Most of it was sourced locally,” says Garrit. Of course also local beers from Bax, Eggens and cider from Doggerland Cider. And you can enjoy all those delicacies at your leisure in one of the hammocks in the lush garden surrounding the building, where pigs and chickens also roam.


Pizza oven
When everything came to a standstill during corona, they decided to do things right at EM2. “We built a traditional wood-fired pizza oven and taught ourselves how to make pizza, pizza the way we like it,” says Garrit. 'The flour comes from the mill in Joeswerd, again local. That pizza oven has really been a great investment.' Reservations for a pizza are recommended if you don't want to fish behind the net.

Climate neutral
What makes EM2 particularly special is that it is the first event location in Europe that is completely self-sufficient. So completely gas-free, they generate and store all the energy themselves. And that without subsidy from anyone. And we are proud of that in Groningen!
EM2 is open to the 'normal' public on Saturday from 16.00:14.00 PM and Sunday from XNUMX:XNUMX PM. The room can be rented for business purposes on other days.
For more information, see em2groningen.nl.