The contract has been signed and all the preparations are complete. Martin Rudolphie (45), owner of the Sportsbar at Zernike, is looking forward to a new challenge. ‘We have had the Sportsbar for about two years now. Students who work out at ACLO often stop by for an easy and tasty meal’, he says. ‘We’ve noticed that there is also demand for that in the city centre.’

That was how Rudolphie came up with the idea to branch out with a second location for the successful Sportsbar. Together with his team, he developed a plan. ‘It has to be clearly recognisable as the same concept behind the Sportsbar’, he explains. ‘That is why we will be offering a loyalty card: if you eat ten meals with us, the 11^th one is free.’

The location – a building on the Damsterplein – caught Rudolphie’s eye a while ago. His bid for the 2e Kamer, the eatery currently housed there, was accepted. He hopes to be able to open the doors to the café before 1 August.

Eat and go

Unlike the Sportsbar, there will be service at ‘Twee jongens’. ‘But the concept is the same: eat, wipe your mouth and go’, Rudolphie says with a laugh. ‘That’s a bit exaggerated of course, but our objective is for people who aren’t in the mood to cook to come to us for a quick meal. It’s not meant to be a place where you spend the whole evening.’

Around 30 people are employed at the Sportsbar, and several of them will also be working at the Damsterdiep location starting this summer. ‘We are a place to learn, and we employ a lot of students’, Rudolphie explains. The main dishes will cost seven euros and a second drink is half price. ‘The average bill is about 10 euros’, Rudolphie says. ‘That’s not too expensive for a whole meal.’