Residents are doing everything they can to keep this sushi restaurant out of Amsterdam
The residents of Beethovenstraat have by now spent between €10,000 and €15,000 on legal costs, but they are not giving up: as far as they are concerned, Sushiclub must not open there at any cost. This is going to be a new sushi restaurant on Amsterdam’s Beethovenstraat, but for now the neighborhood wants nothing to do with it: ‘Violence is associated with this family’s businesses. And not just a little, either.’
That family’s businesses are the branches of The Harbour Club and Café in the City on Amsterdam’s Leidseplein. The men behind Sushiclub are Mickey and Youri de Jong, the owners of the latter hospitality business. A quick side note: The Harbour Club belongs to their father, John de Jong, and they have little to do with it otherwise — although I have to say that the name was rather awkwardly chosen for Sushiclub.
Grenades at the door
In 2017, Café in the City was ‘treated’ to a hand grenade at the door, something that happened at several other hospitality businesses in and around Leidseplein at the time. But the bad luck did not stop there: as recently as last summer, they had to close for six months because of an explosion that destroyed the entrance hall. The Harbour Club has experienced similar incidents, which is why the neighborhood is not at all happy that Sushiclub is coming there — it would be far too dangerous.
My first reaction was still: ‘and what about Ferilli’s?’ The Italian restaurant is a few doors farther down Beethovenstraat and is hardly known for its carefree clientele. Last year, someone was violently robbed of their Rolex on the terrace, and a few years earlier someone was even liquidated.
Sushiclub is coming after all
The residents have been embroiled in a legal battle since the De Jong brothers signed for the property in 2020, but so far with little success. And according to the two brothers, the neighborhood’s fears are unnecessary too: ‘It will be a high-quality restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Only on weekends will guests be able to linger at the table, until 1:00 a.m. at the latest. The neighborhood’s fear that there will be noise nuisance at night is therefore unfounded.’
Personally, I do not really see the big problem (and I lived in that neighborhood for nine years before moving to Rivierenbuurt); I find the assumption that criminals or whatever kind of people would inevitably come there rather far-fetched. The crowd on Leidseplein is also very different from the crowd in Oud-Zuid; and the clientele you are afraid of is already present at places like Ferilli’s.
Still, the neighborhood is not giving up: ‘We will do everything in our power to prevent Sushiclub from opening.’
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Source: Het Parool
