After Twenty-Five Years, Snack Bar Famous for Its Beef Stew Fries May Have to Close
In 1997, a snack bar opened in a drafty corner of Amsterdam’s Zeeburgereiland: Eiburgh Snacks. It isn’t a neatly tiled chip shop with obligatory marketing materials or franchise locations throughout the country, but a fry shack like you can still find in the less manicured places. Over 25 years, the little business has gained many loyal fans, but its continued existence is under threat…
Owner Hans Splinter has known since he opened Eiburgh Snacks in 1997 that his snack bar had no future in the zoning plan for the neighborhood/island. Only, as tends to happen with construction, no apartment blocks or other buildings were put up on his few square meters straight away, so he was able to continue doing good business for a long time. But recently, the municipality told him that he had to close his business immediately. And that caused quite a stir.
Bad news
Splinter received a letter from the municipality stating that having his business at that location violates the current zoning plan and that he must put an end to the violation within eight weeks, reports Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool. He cannot appeal. Splinter started in 1997 with a three-year contract for the location, and according to him, an official later said verbally that he could stay in the spot without having to deal with the paperwork every time, because he would be given three years’ notice if the zoning plan changed.
Rather stay here, where it feels familiar
That hasn’t happened, of course, and Splinter was quite shocked by the looming eight-week deadline. His regular customers also told Het Parool that they would be very disappointed if Eiburgh disappeared. They see the somewhat untidy character of the place as a plus, finding it tasteful precisely because it isn’t so polished, and ‘cozier than a cafeteria full of fluorescent lighting’.
A glimmer of hope
For Splinter and all lovers of his snacks (including our own Snackspert!), there now appears to be a glimmer of hope after all. According to a relevant district council executive, he needn’t worry, and a meeting has since taken place. This suggests that closure within eight weeks is no longer very likely, and hopefully Eiburgh can continue providing plenty of people with fries and snacks for a few more years yet.
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