On Saturday 24 November, we say farewell to the Pop-up shops in the Jan Eef (Jan Evertsenstraat in Amsterdam West) with the GoodBuy Sale. The new owner of the shops, the supermarket chain Albert Heijn, has acquired the necessary building permits and is starting its alterations to the premises in early December.During the GoodBuy Sale, the shopkeepers will be giving spectacular discounts and thanks their customers and the neighbourhood with snacks and drinks. And there’s music.
Since the end of 2011, the Jan Eef has a very special added attraction. One specific block (to use American terminology) in the Jan Evertsenstraat, the block encompassing numbers 20 to 50, has housed a variety of temporary tenants (pop-up shops). Albert Heijn purchased several buildings in the street and, while the drawings were made and permits applied for, the empty property was managed by Zwerfkei and the local initiative “Geef om de Jan Eef” was allowed to help with the occupancy.
Anita Groenink, one of the initiators of Geef om de Jan Eef: “Empty shops in a street don’t make anyone happy. During our Geef-om-de-Jan-Eef Days, we introduced people to the Jan Eef pop-up stores and that inspired us to put things in a wider perspective. In 2011, we asked Zwerfkei and Albert Heijn if they could give entrepreneurs from our Jan Eef network priority when filling the shops temporarily. In this way we managed to welcome a group of creative businesses into the street for the period of one year. The Pop-Up Block, as we called it, now accomodates Casa Vintro (a shop selling vintage furniture), the wine store The Wine Spot, the Shop for Creative Interior Design and three studios for artists. The Mix is an initiative set up by health institution Combiwel where people are trained in retailing and encouraged to re-enter the labour market.”
Supermarket chain Albert Heijn expects to open its doors in March 2013.
Give to the Jan Eef is an initiative of residents from the Baarsjes / Amsterdam West area. The group started in early October 2010 after an armed raid on the jeweller Hund Hund Jan Evertsenstraat in which a popular local shopkeeper was killed. The group have run a number of projects in the local area to restore its reputation.
Empty Shops Network 