How we started: From Empty Space to Revolving Restaurant

Or: How to set up a social enterprise without knowing what you're doing (and why that sometimes works out well)

“So you want to start a restaurant… without any experience in the hospitality industry… with status holders… who also have to learn Dutch… and that also has to become profitable?”

Good question. Maybe we should have thought of that a little earlier. 

The Practical Puzzle

It turns out that setting up a social hospitality business is like juggling a 3D puzzle. You have to simultaneously:

• Running a restaurant that actually makes money
• Supporting people who sometimes barely speak Dutch
• Setting up legal structures
• Arrange financing
• Building a team
• Comply with all kinds of laws and regulations
• Oh yeah, and make sure the food is tasty too

We started with what we had: an empty space, lots of good intentions, and a start-up grant from the municipality of Maastricht. The latter was crucial – that support gave us the starting signal.

From Living Room to Restaurant

The renovation was an adventure in itself. We had about 38 seats in mind inside, plus terraces in front and back. Everything had to meet catering requirements, but we had no idea what that all entailed. Fortunately, we got a lot of help from a friendly connection with a lot of experience in the catering industry. Step by step, we struggled through the jungle of permits, HACCP requirements and fire safety regulations.

It was a period of learning and even more mistakes. Every day brought new challenges: from choosing the right cash register to coming up with work processes that worked for both experienced chefs and beginners.

The Team: Who Actually Does What?

One of the biggest puzzles was building a team, because we needed two parallel organizations:

• A catering team that kept the restaurant running
• Supervisors who could coach and guide status holders

We started with a small group of young hospitality workers who worked together as buddies with the trainees and we ourselves as management (almost full-time unpaid per person – but that would probably be temporary, we thought). We ourselves were 'day responsible', or team leader. 

The first employees were a mix of people with hospitality experience and people who were just as green as we were. What united us was the belief in the mission.

The Opening: Nerve-Wracking and Heart-Warming

After months of preparation, the time had come: the opening. A select group of friends, family and stakeholders were the first to sit in the store to taste what we had cobbled together. And then they were there: the first guests. 

It was chaotic. The cash register didn't work, the coffee was too strong, and the toasted sandwiches were burning. Frits suddenly realized that from now on, coffee had to be made every day. But something magical also happened: guests started talking to each other, there was laughter, and you could feel that something special was developing.

The First Candidates

In the meantime, we worked intensively with Podium24 and consultants from the Social Service to find our first status holders. Step by step we made progress and after about two to three months of being open, our first trainee came through the door.

Our first group was a mix of different backgrounds: people from Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan. Some had university degrees, others could barely read and write. All united by the desire to get to work in the Netherlands.

And so began our journey of learning to guide status holders. Full of courage, but also a lot to learn. 

Reality Strikes

Within a few months it became clear that we had not made our lives easier. Turnover was lower than expected, support costs were higher and every day brought new challenges.

But we had created something. A place where people could really learn from each other. Where status holders not only practiced Dutch, but also built self-confidence. Where guests came not only for the coffee, but also for the stories.

It was the beginning of six years full of ups and downs, breakthroughs and setbacks, success and frustration. But above all: six years in which we proved that a good idea, a lot of perseverance and a lot of heartwarming help together can achieve great things.

Even though we didn't know then that we were engaged in one of the most difficult balancing acts of our lives: being an entrepreneur and making an impact at the same time.

In the next blog we dive into one of our biggest challenges: how do you actually find status holders who want to participate? And why that turned out to be much harder than we thought.