February 20, 2014 · Team HG
General panic broke out in Groningen's nightlife when it became known that the always packed café De Negende Cirkel was closing its doors indefinitely. Where, for example, were you supposed to spend your Sunday evening now? The loss of the café, where you were always welcomed with open arms when the city was quietly emptying out, was deeply felt. But there is good news: salvation is at hand! De Negende was on the verge of death, but starting this week, it is being brought back to life by Jan Hoeve, owner of party café Ome Ko, who takes over the student café. Once again, a good neighbor turns out to be more valuable than a distant friend.
The brand new owner of the Ninth who studied Animal Management during his student days has been involved in the Groningen hospitality industry for quite some time. The dream of one day working in a zoo never came to fruition: “although the nightlife does occasionally bear a suspicious resemblance to a small jungle, of course,” says the 36-year-old Groninger, who, in addition to Ome Ko, also owns both MAX cafeterias on Peperstraat and Poelestraat. It can certainly be said that he is an entrepreneur through and through. An interview about his new showpiece.
First of all, congratulations on your new purchase! A café that naturally cannot be missing as one of the cornerstones of Groningen's nightlife. However, there are whispers that it is a rather dilapidated building requiring a lot of maintenance. Apparently, this didn't stop you from taking over the café?
“The idea that the building is about to collapse is complete nonsense,” says Hoeve emphatically. “The only thing wrong with the building is that there is a lot of overdue maintenance. But this is certainly fixable; it is mainly just incredibly filthy. We have spent half a day cleaning up and it looks a lot better immediately. The previous owner was simply lax with maintenance. The entire basement, for example, was flooded and the ladies' toilet had no door. There was no honor left for the staff at the place; it was completely run down.” The Groningen native is also pragmatic about the floor that bounces back and forth: “I had a construction company take a look at it and we certainly aren't going to fall through the floor. There is just a bit of space between the supporting beam and the floor; that can be fixed in no time with a small beam.”
Now that we will soon be able to fully enjoy a golden brew in the Negende again, the intention is for it to stay that way. How are you going to ensure that the pub doesn't fall on hard times again?
“First of all, the maintenance of the building is important. Not just now, but constantly. When something needs to be replaced, it must be done immediately and not left lying around. That is how you prevent decay. The staff also needs to enjoy going to work again.” According to Hoeve, there are several reasons why the previous owner had to part with the café: “You can, of course, blame everything on the economic downturn, but that is too easy. Naturally, that doesn't help much, but there are also other factors that can cause things to go wrong. The previous owner had seven businesses, four of which had already gone bankrupt. De Negende had to keep the remaining three businesses afloat. This was virtually impossible, no matter how well the business was doing. Debts piled up. This is also the reason why maintenance was postponed: simply a lack of money.”
De Negende Cirkel is an institution in Groningen, a café with its own character. Will everything stay the same, or should we prepare for major changes?
“De Negende indeed has its own character, and that must remain so,” the entrepreneur believes. “The same staff will continue behind the bar, the name stays the same, and the peak hour will simply be retained. Only the structure needs to change. There were sometimes evenings at De Negende when the bar staff had nothing to sell. A keg of beer then had to be quickly borrowed from somewhere, which is, of course, ridiculous. In any case, the guest will not notice much of the takeover, except that the café will look a lot cleaner and it is a well-maintained building.” Naturally, the new owner is not sitting still and has a few plans in the works to take both Ome Ko and De Negende Cirkel to the next level: “The plan is to give guests the option to have lunch in one of the cafés as well. Behind the building is, of course, the kitchen of the MAX, which can easily be used for this. Additionally, I find it striking that one of the most famous student cafés in Groningen has not affiliated itself with a student association for drinks. I want to address that too.”
And then, of course, the million-dollar question: when are you reopening?
“The doors open again this Thursday! The plan is for De Negende to eventually be open seven days a week again, but we may occasionally be closed for a day. Any necessary maintenance will be carried out on such a day. But after that, it will be just like it used to be.”
So loyal Ninth Circle goers can rejoice: everything remains the same. Even the thrilling step down in the café at the end of the bar. So stay on your guard.
© Horecagroningen.nl
Beppie van der Sluis
