It is with a heavy heart that René Pulles will close his beloved snack bar in Waalwijk. Due to the ever-rising energy prices, he sees no other way out for ‘t Heike after 33 years. “Tears come to my eyes, but it’s no different.”
In the many years that René has been running the snack bar with his wife Miranda, they have already experienced price hikes. Potatoes have become more expensive and the price of energy has also increased more often. René passed it on to customers. “But that was a small difference. Now that’s not the case anymore. French fries would cost at least double then,” explains René.
He doesn’t want his customers to pay almost six euros for a normal fries with mayonnaise. “You just can’t do that,” she says firmly. “Plus, customers will also likely say, ‘Wait, we bake these at home.'”
“People are very understanding, it’s overwhelming”
René started cooking chips as a boy. “I started in a neighborhood cafeteria when I was fifteen. I loved it and that’s how I got into it. And with success, because he’s snack bar in Waalwijk is popular with local residents.
“We announced via Facebook on Saturday that we would be stopping and we received a lot of reactions,” says René. He continues with a little tremor in his voice: “People are very understanding, it’s overwhelming. Tears come to my eyes,” he says.
“We work for Eneco”
Frans van Rooij of the ProFri trade association previously said that potentially 70% of the chip shop sector needs it. René knows that many colleagues are trying to reduce costs by adjusting their opening hours.
He even tried it himself, but since energy prices aren’t coming down, it doesn’t help. They have already increased by €1,300 at the beginning of the year and another €1,800 was added in October, he says in frustration. “I’m very sorry, but staying open no longer yields anything; we work for Eneco.”
Now the chip maker from Waalwijk has made the difficult decision to give up. A decision he wouldn’t have had to make if it weren’t for the crisis. “I really enjoy being at the chip shop, but the fun is over. We see no other solution.” However, René and Miranda keep the door ajar to reopen it in the future if energy prices fall again.
