Number of cafes in Netherlands dwindling; Strongest decline in northeast

More and more cafés are closing their doors, especially in the northern and eastern provinces of the country. This is evident from figures from the Chamber of Commerce that ANP requested and analyzed. At the same time, the number of cafés in several large municipalities, such as Leiden and Eindhoven, actually increased.

The number of pubs and bars fell by 280 last year, the largest decrease after the coronavirus pandemic. In total, the Netherlands now has almost 11,000 cafés. In all provinces, except Flevoland, the number of cafés decreased last year. The largest decrease was in the province of Drenthe, where there were 8 percent fewer cafés than in the previous year. Many cafés also closed in Overijssel and Groningen: in both provinces, the number decreased by about 5 percent.

In eight of the 20 municipalities with the most cafés, the number actually increased, including in Leiden, Eindhoven, and Maastricht. Amsterdam is by far the municipality with the most cafés with over 1,100 pubs and bars. Rotterdam follows and then the considerably smaller Den Bosch in terms of population, both with just over 500 establishments.

The number of cafés has been declining for years. Ten years ago. There were still more than 14,000 cafés in the Netherlands, 22 percent more than now.

The number of restaurants has increased slightly in recent years, last year by 123. In total, there are now approximately 20,5000 restaurants in the Netherlands.

During the annual catering trade fair Horecava, Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) reported that 2024 was a "challenging" year for the Dutch catering industry. The trade association referred to staff shortages and rising costs for restaurant, hotel, and café owners, among others.