The Duchess

27-3-2015

Restaurant ‘The Duchess’ in the former KAS Bank and the new W Amsterdam opens this summer. It’s just a short distance away from the Royal Palace at the Dam square. Founder Yossi Eliyahoo of ‘The Duchess’ calls the restaurant a luxurious retreat in the crowded heart of Amsterdam.

The Kitchen

All the tastes are prepared in a handmade Molteni kitchen. This kitchen has been designed specially for the restaurant. An exclusive table is located in middle of the kitchen, The Duchess Table. The menu is inspired by the tastes that are characteristic for countries such as France and Italy. The restaurant uses products like artichoke, zucchini, lemons, olives, tomatoes, truffles, a variety of seafood, meat and fresh pastas. These are all local products from France and Italy.

The ‘Afternoon Tea’ is an important part of ‘The Duchess’. During this light meal there will be a variety of small pastries and scones served with signature marmalades. Besides that, the restaurant also serves one of its many tea blends and champagnes. Adjusted to the ‘dining experience’, the drink menu consists of different drinks, cocktails and punch.

Interior

Yossi Eliyahoo is inspired by the history of the former bank and combined this with the character of ‘The Duchess’. The interior has been brought into balance with the elegance and refinement of a royal past and with the comfort and intrigues from this time. The hall is decorated with a ceiling that is made of glass surrounded by marble details and handmade floor tiles.

Daalder mobile payment app

23-3-2015

The Dutch company Daalder launched its mobile payment Daalder app last week, an independent e-wallet for mobile payments in the Netherlands.

About Daalder

Daalder is an Amsterdam based start-up founded by entrepreneurs Renz Millenaar, Reinhard Spronk and Romke de Vries. Thomas de With, former director of the Global Transaction Bank at Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands is member of the Daalder Advisory Board. Business that are connected through Daalder receive payments via the ‘Daalder Webkassa’ (freely translated as ‘Daalder webbased cash register) which makes payments immediately visible. In addition, it is possible to send live updates and special offers to Daalder users.

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Dutch Street Food app

20-3-2015

‘Reizende Sterren’ introduces a street food app for the Netherlands. Soon the food trucks and festivals throughout the Netherlands can be found through the street food app.
The ‘Reizende Sterren street food app’ provides an overview of Dutch street food
entrepreneurs, food trucks and other mobile kitchens. The recent pilot with food trucks by the municipality of Amsterdam shows that it’s the perfect timing for such an app. In addition to visibility at festivals and events, users of the app can see where food trucks are located in the city, at designated spots on the street.

The launch of the ‘Reizende Sterren street food app’ will take place in May 2015

The street food app for consumers

• Free to download from the App Store (Apple & Android)
• Overview with foodtruck entrepreneurs, product information and their signature dishes
• Push notifications of promotions, recipes and tickets
• Current events calendar
• Information about festivals, markets, events, parties, permanent pitches
• Real-time locator with GPS
• Link with social media
• Consumers rating system

Statistics Data

With a consumer rating system within the app, it is possible to collect valuable data about consumer behaviour and appreciation that can help in the development of street food in the Netherlands. The street food app will collect data from every festival / event / food truck and ‘Reizende Sterren’ will provide an annual (public) overview of relevant information via an online analysis map.

The Happy Pig Pancake Shop

20-3-2015

The Happy Pig Pancake Shop is a unique store in downtown Amsterdam. In the shop you can find pancakes and Belgian waffles made from certified organic ingredients that are freshly cooked.

The Happy Pig Pancake Shop: Shop with breakfast bar

In the shop they make good old-fashioned Dutch pancakes and Belgian waffles with delicious fillings and toppings. The focus is on certified organic ingredients. Cooks prepare your dish right in front of you. Besides the pancakes and waffles they also serve organic coffee, tea, chai latte, hot chocolate and fresh orange juice. They have a breakfast bar, and if the weather is nice, you can sit on one of the benches outside. Of course you can also have your pancake for take-away as well. In the shop you will find organic snacks, drinks, coffee, honey and chocolate.

The Happy Pig Pancake Shop in Amsterdam

Andrea Steinmetz, owner of The Happy Pig Shop, at the Rosmarijnsteeg in Amsterdam, notes that it is very busy since the shop opened in October last year. She has especially noticed that reviews on TripAdvisor have much effect on the people coming in. On her website she placed a prominent button from TripAdvisor:

Bravo: The Happy Pig Pancake Shop Amsterdam rated “excellent” by 25 travelers.

Our colleague Armand Sol experienced the influence of TripAdvisor himself recently, he wrote a blog about it (in Dutch). Inspiration: Is your business established in an environment where international guests pay a visit, ensure that are good reviews on TripAdvisor. A friendly request for a review can provide new guests though this channel.

Popup Melksalon

13-3-2015

A milk bar (de MelkSalon) will pop up in Amsterdam. The MelkSalon is a temporary pilot and design room where the value of milk will be rediscovered. From 1 to 30 April at the Oude Spiegelstraat 6.

The Melksalon brings consumers, dairy farmers, dairy processors, designers and scientists together, to rediscover the value(s) of milk. Amongst other things they will organize lectures, design sessions, movie nights and walking tours. The full program is available here (unfortunately only in Dutch). With as highlights some Milk Talks and design sessions under the guidance of experts, an Old Amsterdam Milk Tour and some dinners with catchy titles such as Milk Unchained! And Milk Multi Culti! The dinners are in cooperation with Gilbert Kolff. The pop-up Melksalon is both a shop and a milk bar where you can walk in to taste special kinds of milk.

Why a Milk bar?

Around 1900, the streets of Amsterdam knew many milk parlors, where inhabitants could buy a glass of milk of local farmers. Today we buy milk in the supermarket, but milk still holds an important role in the Dutch history, (food)culture, economy, innovative spirit and in the countryside. Yet, many know little of this rich influence of milk. Milk in the supermarket has become an anonymous bulk product. At the same time there is a strong public debate about the consumption of milk, the impact on the environment and landscape, and the price one pays for it. With the pop-up MelkSalon they want to remove milk from the anonymity, and start a dialogue about the meaning of the product for our culture and society.

The pop-up Melksalon is an initiative of Sietske Klooster and Food Cabinet and is supported by the Dutch Dairy Association, The Milk Story, Triodos Foundation and the Committee Agricultural Innovation North Brabant.

Wagamama & crowdfunding: they raised € 177.000,= in two hours for their new location

3-3-2015

Wagamama, a Japanese noodle restaurant, raised € 177.500,= through Collin Crowdfund in only two hours for their new location at the ‘IJ riverside’ of Amsterdam Central Station. A total amount of € 225.000,= is collected from the public. The new Wagamama restaurant opens her doors at 1 June 2015.

Wagamama fast casual dining

Arjen Schrama took London’s Wagamama formula to the Netherlands in 2000. After the Wagamana restaurants at the Rembrandt square, Leidseplein and Zuidplein (WTC) the ‘IJhall’ will be the fourth location in Amsterdam. The restaurant will have 120 seats and a terrace with 60 seats. The restaurant is completely transparent on the front and the back and offers a view over ‘the IJ river’ and the Eye Film Museum across the river.

The “fast casual dining” formula provides freshly prepared food and lots of choices for travellers who need a fast, affordable meal or a 2- or 3-course dinner.

Wagamama & crowdfunding

The total investment of the new Wagamama restaurant is € 450.000,=. Half of this investment comes from the company’s own funds. The other half is loaned by private investors through a linear loan of 48 months with an interest rate of 6,5%. The network of Arjen Schrama already invested € 47.500,= in Wagamama. The remaining € 177.500,= was later added by the investors of Collin.

Collin Crowdfund

Collin is the bridge between investors who are looking for more return on their investment and smaller companies in need of financing funding. Companies in need of funding from € 50.000,= till € 2.500.000,= can go to Collin. In order to make both sides successful, Collin introduced ‘Crowdfund Coaches’ who will accompany the entrepreneurs through the process. The Crowdfund coaches will also be coordinating the contact between the entrepreneur and the investors after the completion of the loans.

About the ‘Bakkerswinkel’

24-2-2015

This is an interview with a Dutch entrepreneur and is only published in Dutch. You can read more articles about his lunchroom/bakery store on our website. The first article is about the second store of the ‘Bakkerswinkel’ in Rotterdam and the second article about the ‘Bakkerswinkel’ in Amsterdam who started serving dinner as well.

Scandic Hotel in Stockholm revitalizes the Vasateatern theater

23-2-2015

After years of having stood empty the Vasateatern theater in Stockholm will be revived. A vibrant cultural scene for theater and music will become a reality when the theatre is connected with the Scandic Grand Central hotel, along with restaurants and bars it will create a one-of-a-kind hotel. The design for the ‘Vasateatern’ is a cooperation between the leading hotel chain in the Nordic region, Scandic, and the owner of the property, KLP Fastigheter.

The foyer of the theater (from 1890’s) was already part of Scandic Grand Central, but now the whole theater will be back in the spotlight. Guests will be able to step directly from the hotel’s bistro into the historic and beautiful theater, where legendary Swedish actors and actresses have performed.

The plan for the Vasateatern theater

Scandic Central Hotel has already distinguished itself as an ambitious venue for concerts and clubbing. With the theater the hotel will be able to attract a larger audience. The theater will be rented to companies that produce smaller musicals, theater and dance performances. The restoration of the theater takes place under the guidance of antique experts and depending on the length of the renovation, the theatre is expected to reopen in the spring or summer of 2016.

In Amsterdam the Supperclub will settle at the Odeon theater

Recently it has become known that the property of the Odeon theatre in Amsterdam is sold to the Supperclub. The Supperclub is forced to move to a new location after 20 years. The Odeon is a large and impressive building in the heart of Amsterdam with a rich history as amongst others, a former theater, cinema and concert hall. What exactly will be the interpretation remains a surprise but with the Supperclub this is definitely something to look forward to.

Hospitality with a story at PRESSROOM

23-2-2015

PRESSROOM opens her doors in Amsterdam in the spring of 2015. The restaurant is located in the former building of the Dutch newspaper ‘De Tijd’. This was the place where stories arose, were written and were eventually printed in ink. These three themes: ‘time, ink & stories’ play a big part in the story of PRESSROOM and have been decisive for the selection of the staff, the interior and menu.

Hospitality with a story

PRESSROOM started looking for staff with an innovating recruitment campaign. Through this campaign, the restaurant has casted characters based on their personal and unique stories. The recruitment is completed, but they were looking for, among others, the following character’s; ‘The Mastermind’, ‘The Fortune Teller’, ‘The Flavour Maker’ and ‘The Brewer’. If you have to fulfil those functions, you do have to create a story around them. 😉 The interior is also based on a PRESSROOM with classic typewriters, ink bottles of glass and large rolls of printing paper.

All day drink&eat

PRESSROOM has selected an all-day drink&eat menu for every part of the day. Coffees are made with a machine of ‘Van der Westen’, also called ‘the king of the espresso’. With lunch and dinner it is all about sharing. The dinner menu is a combination of international cuisine with local produced products. You can drink a cocktail until late at the Library Lounge or the bar. PRESSROOM lives from early in the morning until late at night because the story must go on…

The icons of McDonald’s: continuing the ‘No Logo’ strategy

20-2-2015

One of our readers e-mailed us a picture of an advertisement with a simple icon, seen in a bus shelter. He suspected that the icon was an advertisement of Mcdonald’s? And he was right. McDonald’s in the Netherlands lets these icons speak for themselves without adding any text.

The ‘No Logo’ strategy

In 2014 McDonald’s USA started the champagne ‘No Logo’. This campaign shows that the products of McDonald’s became brands. Above you can see the first original TV-commercial that was made for this campaign. It was directed by agency TBWA Paris. Now McDonald’s in the Netherlands goes an extra mile by changing its products into just Picto’s. This way they show the Dutch audience that even if their products are advertised as Picto’s, they still are recognizable.

Picto Puzzles based on the Beacon-technology

Besides the pictures you can find on billboards, advertisements in bus shelters and on posters, you can find them as well at more famous places, like the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam and the subway station ‘Beurs’ in Rotterdam. By scanning these Picto Puzzles with the McDonald’s app, you receive a notification to play Picto Puzzle. Mcdonald’s is the first advertiser in the Netherlands who inserts the Beacon-technology.