Grand Café Het Noorden in Aalten starts ‘Het Noorden Offline Resort’
Grand Café Het Noorden in Aalten starts ‘Het Noorden Offline Resort’ in April 
Grand Café Het Noorden in Aalten starts ‘Het Noorden Offline Resort’ in April
Dining out without phones on the table for a change. In a time when screens are everywhere, Grand Café Het Noorden in Aalten is deliberately choosing the opposite approach. Starting in April, the hospitality business is launching a striking experiment: Het Noorden Offline Resort. Upon arrival, guests can voluntarily hand in their smartphones to be stored in a secure locker. In return, they receive an offline menu featuring puzzles, games, and other table activities.
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‘Het Noorden Offline Resort’
The initiative comes from owners Wesley and Nita Hüning, who have noticed a clear change in their guests in recent years. An extra push came from within the hospitality industry itself. Trendwatchers Wouter Verkerk and Gijsbregt Brouwer recently mentioned in their podcast Tien voor Tien that “being offline” is one of the developments that will shape the hospitality sector towards 2026.
“That really got us thinking,” says Wesley Hüning. “You see it more and more often: families or groups of friends going out for a nice meal together, but all of them are on their phones at the same time. And to be honest, I recognize that in myself as well. It can be quite difficult to truly put your phone away. So we thought: if we already find it difficult, what must it be like for our guests? That’s when we came up with this idea. With the Offline Resort, we want to help people take a step back from their phones and really give each other their attention again. In a way, we just want to do our guests a small favor.”
Offline menu
Upon arrival, guests are welcomed by an ‘Offline Host’. Anyone who wishes to do so can safely store their phone in a special locker. A unique menu appears on the table: the offline menu. Instead of dishes, it features activities that guests can enjoy together, such as a cryptogram, a small jigsaw puzzle, dice for a game, the day’s newspaper or a mini-painting to colour in. There is also an anniversary magazine about the history of Het Noorden on the table. The aim is simple: to take a break from screens and make room for conversation, games and relaxation.
According to Nita Hüning, this fits perfectly with what Het Noorden has stood for over generations. “Our core value is ‘Attention Connects,’” she says. “We truly believe in that. Sometimes you just need to turn off the noise. This experiment is a playful way to bring people back together at the table.”
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Experiment
Whether the Offline Resort will become a permanent part of Het Noorden remains to be seen. For now, the owners mainly want to observe how guests respond. Wesley Hüning takes a down-to-earth approach, as is common in the Achterhoek region. “We’re just going to give it a try,” he says. “And if people say after an evening without their phones, ‘that was actually quite enjoyable,’ then our experiment has already succeeded.”
‘Het Noorden Offline Resort’ is one of the new initiatives organized by Het Noorden this year to mark the company’s 160th anniversary. A café and playground were opened on the same site in Aalten back in 1866, described at the time as an ‘entertainment venue’.
Could it be an April Fool’s joke? In any case, it’s a good idea.
We have written about Grand Café Het Noorden in Aalten before.
Website: Het Noorden
