A BELGIAN CAFE
WITH
A DELHAIZE HISTORY

A BELGIAN CAFE
WITH
A DELHAIZE HISTORY

An office complex with a cozy Belgian café, who wouldn’t dream of that? At the headquarters of Ahold Delhaize it is now reality. After the fusion in 2016 it was high time to seal the deal with a fresh Belgian beer. From now on many toasts will be proposed in the Zaandam headquarters, in a Belgian café with a rich Delhaize history.

By integrating a Belgian café within the head office, Ahold Delhaize brings a piece of Belgian retail culture to the Netherlands. We went through the archives, collecting pieces of the Delhaize-era history. The entire café is decorated with the legacy of the Delhaize supermarket. From the typical façade with black tiles to the retro cookie tins and preserves: a modern interpretation of a brown beer bar.

A JOURNEY
THROUGH TIME

A JOURNEY
THROUGH TIME

Belgian Café Albert Heijn

BELGIAN BEERS!

BELGIAN BEERS!

It is reflected in our choice of materials as well. Just like in a typical brown café, we used lots of wood: parquet flooring, custom-made wainscoting that goes nicely with the bar (that we actually built in the Creneau studio as well). By staining the wood in different ways and by using materials such as brass and marble, the interior design of the café is lifted to a higher level.

MEETING
AT THE
BAR?

MEETING
AT THE
BAR?

A Belgian café in a Dutch office; will the beer be okay? For sure. We did notice a difference between the Belgian and Dutch culture within the construction process though. In Belgium we soap up our glasses with warm water, then rinse them with cold water and rinse them again in a water dispenser before beer is tapped. In the Netherlands they skip the second step.

To make sure to bring the entire Belgian beer culture to the Netherlands, we saw to it that it’s possible to rinse the glasses the Belgian way at the head office. And of course all beers are served in their respective beer glasses. Schol!

DELHAIZE 
HISTORY

DELHAIZE 
HISTORY

The Belgian café is now used for varying purposes by Ahold Delhaize. Throughout the day it is used as a space for flex working, the space can be rented out for meetings and and when it’s time to raise a glass, there will be a nice Belgian beer in it. We sure raised one after the completion of this project. Cheers to a wonderful cooperation with Ahold Delhaize!

Scope of work

interior design
production

Year

2018

Location

Zaandam — Netherlands

Client

Ahold Delhaize

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