Cafe Huis de Beurs changes hands

Bos&Bos Catering is taking over the café-restaurant in the new year. House of the Stock Exchange in the city center of Groningen. The twenty staff members will transfer to the new operator.

For John and Renske Bos from Groningen, taking over the café on the corner of Folkingestraat and A-Kerkhof is something very different from what they are used to. Most of the establishments they have acquired over time come with associated activities. For instance, they manage the restaurants of the Groninger Museum, the Drents Museum, the Groninger Forum, the TThall, Groningen Airport Eelde, and until recently, the Infoversum. Only restaurant the Sterrebos Pavilion has no side activity.

"Running a classic café like Huis de Beurs is really a different ball game," says Renske Bos. "However, this opportunity was fantastic; such a prime property in the most beautiful spot in the city, right in the heart of the city center. We couldn't let that pass us by."

Bos plans not to change the layout of the café for the time being. "We are going to clean everything up, but will leave the café as it is for the coming year. A nice old-fashioned pub with a living room atmosphere downstairs, a large function room for over 300 people upstairs, and various smaller rooms that are handy for meetings."

At the end of the summer, the café-restaurant was put up for sale quietly. Currently, Iranian Arash Barghi still presides over the establishment, which takes its name from the neighboring Korenbeurs and where regulars drink a cup of coffee and read the newspaper in the mornings. In the evenings, the upstairs room regularly hosts receptions, galas, student parties, and meetings.

Bos promises that little will be changed to the lunch and dinner menu for the time being following the takeover. "A satay, sole, or a fried egg will simply remain on the menu. At most, we will make some adjustments to the way it is served, for example on a board to give it a bit more of a robust, Burgundian character."

Son Emile Bos has become a partial co-shareholder of Huis de Beurs. The 20-year-old is in his third year of hotel school and wrote the business plan for the café as part of his studies.

Renske Bos: "Emile is going to do his practical internship at Huis de Beurs to gain experience. In the long term, he could become the face of the café-restaurant, but it is still too early for that."

In January, the caterer will be working at the restaurant in Eelde airport. In the second half of January, the function rooms and terrace there will be renovated, and the restaurant will receive a new look. "We hope to showcase the new result at the airport at the end of January," says Bos.

Photos: Via Huis de Beurs Facebook
Source: DVHN.nl