Café of Ede hostage-taking reopens on Saturday

​​Café Petticoat in Ede, where a hostage situation occurred last week, will reopen on Saturday evening. The Petticoat team asks visitors "not to ask about our story or how we are doing," they said on social media. Last Saturday, a 28-year-old man from Ede had taken four employees of the café hostage for hours on Saturday. No one was injured. The hostage situation received international media attention.

The café staff has had "a hectic week with a rollercoaster of emotions." "By mutual agreement, we have decided to pull the strings and reopen our doors. So we can do what we do best: give people a good time and have a party."

The investigation into the hostage-taking is ongoing. The 28-year-old suspect remains in custody. However, nothing is yet known about his motive for the seven-hour hostage-taking of four people. Earlier this week, his lawyers explained that "a very long search for suitable help" and "the hopeless situation" in which the man found himself could have been motives. The young suspect from Eden lived in an assisted living facility and was convicted of threatening behavior last year. He had to undergo treatment in a psychiatric facility and report regularly to the probation service.

In December 2023, a court convicted and sentenced the man to 120 days in prison, 103 days of which were conditionally suspended, for threatening two cops with a firearm. The conditions imposed on the man included that he commit no other criminal offenses in the next three years, stay in contact with the probation service, and undergo psychiatric treatment, De Gelderlander wrote based on data from the Gelderland court.

The man threatened the hostages with knives. He also said he had explosives, but that later turned out to be untrue. According to co-owner Kevin Verwoert of Café Petticoat, few people realize how great an impact the hostage situation has had on his team. In a written statement to the Gelderlander, he asks, among other things, for peace for his people. According to him, their lives are still completely turned upside down. According to Verwoert, the team met several times after the hostage situation. "We also still have many questions. But we do not want to stand in the way of the investigation and the upcoming criminal trial." The team is grateful for the outpouring of messages and support over the past week.

The man threatened the hostages with knives. He also said that he had explosives, but this turned out to be untrue afterwards. According to Kevin Verwoert, co-owner of Café Petticoat, only a few people realize how much the hostage-taking has affected his team. In a written statement to the Gelderlander, he asked for peace for his people.

The 37-year-old owner wants them to be left alone, mainly because they are young people he wants to protect. "It is very important to me to protect them. I hope they are left alone. They are 19 and 20. My associate is a bit older. They are doing okay, but I don't want to speak for them," he told de Telegraaf last week.

In his opinion, their lives are still completely out of joint. The team met several times after the hostage-taking, said Verwoert. "We still have a lot of questions too. But we don't want to stand in the way of the investigation and the upcoming criminal trial." The team is grateful for the many messages and support it has received over the past week.