The Netherlands’ bruine kroegen (AKA brown bars) are becoming an endangered species. One politician in Amsterdam is leading the charge in a fight for their survival, but will those in other cities follow suit? 

Babbels was a beloved bruine kroeg in Leiden. The tables out front were a popular hangout spot for punters ranging in age from 18 to 80, especially during the summer months.

A dumpster replaced the tables on a grey afternoon earlier this winter. Within a few days, the numerous old photos and beer adverts that lined the walls had vanished. So had the nearly century-old cash register that once sat on the bar. It reopened as a shiny, new French bistro a few weeks ago.

Babbels is just one of the latest bruine kroeg to bite the dust in the Netherlands. Hospitality sector association Koninklijke Horeca Nederland estimates their number has fallen by nearly a third in recent years to 8,260 at the end of 2022. Another source claims the number still in operation could be closer to 5,000.

In Amsterdam, local Labour councillor Lian Heinhuis decided to fight for Amsterdam’s remaining ones after contemplating how quickly the city has been changing in recent years and what’s being lost in the process.

“What do we want in the city?” she said to Dutch News. “For me, these are places where we meet and look after each other. I watched an authentic bar in my neighbourhood get sold and turned into a hip concept where not everyone felt at home.”

She says she is worried that people from many different backgrounds are losing places where they could comfortably meet and chat with one another.

“That is precisely what makes Amsterdam, Amsterdam” she said. “Then I started doing research.” Last November Amsterdam’s city council unanimously approved her plan – to investigate whether brown bars should be given listed building status and even inclusion on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.

But the logistics could prove tricky, especially since it’s often difficult to tell what exactly qualifies as a bruine kroeg.

Defining these dives

Bruine kroegen are sort of like neighbourhood pubs in the UK or dive bars in the US, but those comparisons don’t quite fit.

“An American judge once said pornography is hard to define but you know it when you see it, and it’s a bit like that with bruine kroegen,” bestselling author Ben Coates told Dutch News. “The exact definition of what constitutes one is up for debate, but you’ll know if you’re in one as soon as you cross the threshold.”

For some, an authentic bruine kroeg must serve Dutch beer and jenever as well as Dutch snacks mostly comprised of meats of somewhat dubious origin. Perhaps most importantly, these bars usually only play Dutch music and the customers often sing along. But for others, it just needs to be an old pub located within the borders of the Netherlands.

It helps if the place has been open for over a hundred years, contains random bric a brac, and the shelves haven’t been dusted since the reign of queen Wilhelmina. The cobwebs that cover the lamps in Cafe De Dokter, one such bar in Amsterdam that dates back to the 1798, have probably been up there for literally centuries.

“For me, the defining feature is the decor: mud-coloured, a bit shabby, and defiantly unfashionable, but very welcoming to anyone who likes beer and doesn’t mind a sticky floor,” Coates said.

The “bruine” is said to come from the decades of tobacco smoke that coloured the walls when smoking was allowed indoors.

All are welcome

Contrary to popular belief, these bars aren’t ‘locals only’ establishments and getting the word out about that could help them keep running further into the 21st century and beyond. But not everyone is on board with that idea.

Sharon O’Dea, a consultant originally from the UK, has a favourite bruine kroeg in Amsterdam, but she didn’t want to share its name with Dutch News.

“I wouldn’t want to encourage others to go to my brilliant local kroeg and spoil it,” she said. “And the golden rule of the best ones: they’re less than a minute from home.”

Fernando Takai, an engineer, also likes them. “I love my local bar,” he said. “It was kind of weird the first time we went there, mostly because we didn’t even know brown bars were a thing, but everyone was super friendly, more than I was expecting since wife and I don’t speak any Dutch.”

Not everyone’s choice

Such places might not be a big draw for those who prefer to spend their Saturday evenings shaking their groove things in nightclubs or checking out the latest trendy cafe. The American cook and writer Anthony Bourdain lasted mere moments in a bruine kroeg while filming a segment for a travel show in 2012.

“This is the definition of hell,” he said as the other patrons and his tour guide began singing a Dutch drinking song “This is like you’re sitting with Neil Young and he starts belting out the soundtrack from Annie.”

Problems and solutions

Many might assume that over-tourism, changing tastes, and ageing clientele are forcing bruine kroegen to shut down. While those factors definitely aren’t helping, especially in Amsterdam, Heinhuis points out a bigger problem: proprietors who are getting too old to keep going.

“What is most difficult for owners is finding a successor who wants to take over the bar and can afford it,” she said.

Owning and operating a bruine kroeg is a dicey proposition for any young entrepreneur, especially in a city with high rents. Both in Amsterdam and elsewhere around the country, cafes and bars are still struggling with staffing shortages as well.

But Heinhuis remains confident the bars appeal to customers who are still many years away from getting their first grey hair.

“I think they’re becoming increasingly popular among young people,” she said. “We noticed that after our proposal, the papers started writing about them. That helps enormously to get the younger generations into a bruine kroeg. And often once they’ve been inside, they love it.”

Meanwhile, in other cities

While Amsterdam’s city council is moving forward with protecting its bruine kroegen, those in other communities seem largely unconcerned. Dutch News reached out to several councils around the country. Only The Hague and Leiden responded.

Leiden spokeswoman Cora van der Elst said there have been no recent discussions about preserving the city’s bars. However, that doesn’t mean the new owners of one can simply toss everything in a dumpster. Many cafes and other business spaces already have listed building protection, she said.

If, for example, someone bought the Café De Vergulde Kruik, a bruine kroeg in the centre of Leiden, and wanted to turn it into a Victoria’s Secret, there are certain things that could have to stay in place regardless of how they look alongside the lingerie. Anything moveable is unlikely to survive. A vintage stain-glass overhang might need to stay put but even could be removed if the city agrees.

Eva van Wijngaarden, from The Hague city council, said there are no plans to extend the city’s listed building regulations to brown bars. However, the council did discuss logistics and respond to questions about granting them monumental status last autumn.

“The bruine kroeg is a part of Dutch culture,” she said. “It is, just like a restaurant, theatre, or museum, a place where people come together to relax and meet each other. At the same time, people nowadays have a much richer range of places to chose from.”

Harder to find

While many patrons view these bars as great places to knock back a few beers, others contend they have immense social and historical value.

“Sadly, these bars are getting harder to find these days,” Coates said. “One of my own favourites in Rotterdam turned into a fancy hipster cafe a few years ago, and that seems to be part of a nationwide trend.”

But perhaps the greatest key to their survival could be simply adapting to changes tastes.

You’ll encounter at least a few conceptual compromises at De Huppel, one of the most popular bruine kroegen in The Hague. On a recent Saturday afternoon, it was packed with 20-somethings as well as regulars three times their age. A multi-generational family seated in the back was in the middle of a whisky tasting.

Change with the times

One secret to the bar’s success could be the proprietors’ willingness to keep up with the times. The menu is in both English and Dutch. They serve ox sausage in addition to a few vegan items. The beer list is long and their selection of whiskies contains over 150 varieties. De Huppel’s playlist has Dutch acts as well as decades-spanning international acts ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Muse.

“We very much do our own thing,” De Huppel co-owner Eline van Urk Dam told Dutch News. “We’re moving with the times in terms of our menu, music, service, and such without losing the feeling of a brown bar. A brown bar does not have to dusty.”