Third fewer bars and cafes in the NL since 2007, but restaurants & caterers have surged
The number of bars and cafes in the Netherlands decreased by a third since 2007, dropping by around 4,000 establishments to 8,080 bars and cafes this year. In the same period, the number of restaurants increased by 58 percent, and caterers skyrocketed with a sixfold increase, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Wednesday.
The total number of companies in the food and beverage service increased by 83 percent between 1 October 2007 and 1 October 2024, from almost 38,000 to 69,000. Most of that growth was one-person event caterers. Excluding that category, the number of food and beverage service companies increased by 25 percent.
The number of event caterers increased from 4,240in 2007 to 27,110 this year. The number of one-person companies in this category increased by a massive 851 percent in that period.
According to CBS economist Marjolijn Jaarsma, much of the category’s growth happened during the coronavirus pandemic. People couldn’t go to restaurants, but could still have food and drinks delivered to their homes. It is possible that people who lost their jobs in the catering industry during the pandemic started their own businesses. The rise of festivals also plays a role, the economist said. And the number of sole proprietorships is always on the rise as part of the flexibilization of the labor market.
The restaurant sector also grew significantly since 2007, with the number of restaurants increasing from 10,390 to 16,460 in 2024. The number of “other eateries,” which includes snack bars, fast food restaurants, lunch rooms, and ice cream parlors, grew from 9,900 to 16,285.
Bars and cafes are the only category that saw significant contraction in this period, dropping by a third from 12,065 in 2007 to 8,080 in 2024. According to Jaarsma, this category, and brown cafes in particular, has been struggling for some time. The ban on smoking indoors was a blow to these establishments, and many also closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Society has also changed, and people now prefer to do other things in their free time, such as grabbing a bite to eat, the economist suggested.
Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, and Noord-Brabant have the most businesses in the food and beverage service industry. These three provinces account for 59 percent of this industry in the Netherlands.
The number of food and beverage service establishments has grown the fastest in Flevoland, with a threefold increase between 2007 and 2024. Noord-Holland and Utrecht saw the second and third most growth. These three provinces were also the top three for the largest economic growth and population growth since 2007.
