Recent times haven’t been easy for businesses working in or with the catering industry in the Netherlands but, fortunately, this is set to change this weekend. From 5 June, catering establishments in the country will be able to open again from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and receive guests inside.
Dick Schaap Wholesale works with local suppliers
It’s very busy at Dick Schaap Wholesale these days. Dick Schaap: “It’s a madhouse, I can’t describe it any other way. There’s a huge peak at the moment because companies that had been closed for a long time or were minimally open will now open fully again on Saturday and, combined with the beautiful weather, this means that the purchases being made are actually exceeding our expectations.”
Take-away
During the period when companies in the catering industry had to close their doors, many eateries switched to take-away to keep costs down. The question is whether it will remain lucrative to continue this. “Restaurants are now getting busy again with their day-to-day processes and therefore the focus will shift back to the core tasks of the restaurant business. I hear around me that many businesses want to stop doing take-away again. Customers are mainly happy that they can open again somewhat normally,” says Dick.
Next summer
“Last summer we were very busy and I expect the same this summer,” says Dick. “Because of the warm weather there is a real run on lettuce products and also the chip products are very popular. We have also noticed that edible flowers are becoming increasingly popular. Today, for example, I sold 4 to 5 times as many edible flowers as usual.”
Challenge
“We are very happy that it is so busy again and we are excited to get back to it. Every day it is a logistical challenge to get all the transports to the right places and it’s a great feeling when you manage to do that again,” Dick concludes.
For more information:
Dick Schaap Groothandel 
Signaal 81
1446 WT Purmerend
+31 (0)299 650 824
info@dickschaap.nl
www.dickschaap.nl