Cafe ‘t Mandje on the Zeedijk, the pub known as the first gay café in the city, is having a hard time due to corona. People who wanted to support ‘t Mandje could transfer money via a Tikkie. The promotion was so successful that owner Diana van Laar has already taken the call from Facebook.
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Café ‘t Mandje has been closed for more than seven months. Government support is inadequate, according to the owner, and comes months after payments had to be made.
Diana van Laar was inspired by other catering businesses that had also set up a fundraising campaign for financial support. ‘It is my honor, but how wonderful how people react,’ she says in her closed bar.
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Van Laar is not satisfied with the presented perspective for the hospitality industry. She believes that earlier and harder action should have been taken against the corona virus. The owner remains combative and will certainly not give up. ‘As long as you can, you can keep it up’.
Van Laar is the niece of founder Bet van Beeren. Van Beeren is the icon of free Amsterdam. Everyone came to her café on the Zeedijk. It was a popular meeting place for gay men, even in the dark days of the Second World War.
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