So in Amsterdam there’s a cafe which embraces the DIY attitude of skateboarding, has regular parties, serves you dinner, gets you boozed up…
…and has a mini-ramp.
It doesn’t get much better than this. Hidden in a warehouse in the North of Amsterdam, Colin Vlaar – once a welder and ramp-builder at Nine Yards – saw an opportunity to open The Netherland’s (and possibly Europe’s) first skateboard cafe, bar, restaurant and live venue – and took it. With skateboarding lessons every Wednesday, a guest-chef restaurant every Thursday evening and parties every week – they’re only three weeks in, and it’s already kicking off!
Colin, who were you before you started the Skate Cafe, and what led you to where you are now?
I started at school, then had a kind of office job but didn’t like it. After that I worked in a skateshop for a bit. I started my own clothing brand, then went to work at nine yards, a skatepark building company here in The Netherlands, but that was in Breda.
Then I went back to Amsterdam after a year and a half or so to weld furniture for restaurants and stuff. The workplace I worked in was right next to where the Skate Cafe is now, the warehouse was empty, there was an opportunity. I wanted to start a bar, and here it is.
That’s a pretty big step up though, did you feel you were ready for it? You didn’t do it alone right?
Nothing I did, I did alone. Everything was with the help of my friends, and it was a big step up and it was hard work. But I think the first steps, building and realising it, we nailed.
And how was the opening?
The opening was crazy, we had around 700 people in here! We put the DJ booth at the back of the mini-ramp, people were skating in front of it, it was a sick setup! We had been building for like three months, so with an insane opening like that it was perfect.
Everything worked out so good, the beer was running fine, everybody had them fast, the toilets were working very well and everything. Very satisfying to see, and people were skating here everyday.
Each friday we throw a party with our befriended DJs, these parties are crazy every week! So much fun.
What has surprised you since opening the doors to the Skate Cafe?
That everyday peeps show up! I didnt really expect anything to happen, but each day people show up either to skate or just drink a beer, coffee, wine or eat food.
And it’s open to kids as well, right?
Yeah, kids, mothers, grandfathers. Everybody. We do skate lessons every Wednesday too.
Where are you going to take this? Where do you see the Skate Cafe in a year?
We’re gonna do some more parties in the near future. I hope everybody feels welcome then like they do now. And in the summer, we’ll open the terraces and the big front doors and do a barbecue on the porch! I think that’ll be a lot of fun.
Do you think Amsterdam needs Skate Cafe?
No, I don’t think amsterdam needs it. It has never been here before and everything was fine. But I do think it’s nice that we have a place with a nice mini/bowl where everybody can have fun when it rains.
Also, many cafes and restaurants in the city are run by bigger corporations. We’ve built our place ourselves with our own money, with a little help from converse and a whole lot of help from our friends and family. I think that’s what makes a difference.
