Amsterdam’s Grand Café 1e Klas appeals eviction over €800,000 in unpaid rent
Grand Café 1e Klas, the long-established restaurant in the historic former waiting room of Amsterdam Centraal Station and known for its famous parrot Elvis, has filed an appeal after losing its lease over unpaid rent exceeding 800,000 euros, AT5 reports. The legal dispute centers on the ticket gates NS installed in 2020, which the restaurant says have driven away customers and led to severe financial losses.
Earlier this year, the Amsterdam court ruled that Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), which owns the building, could terminate the lease. According to that judgment, the restaurant had accumulated 811,848 euros in rental arrears, excluding VAT. The court ordered 1e Klas to vacate the premises within nine months and pay back rent, contractual fines, and legal costs.
Restaurant owner Mario Brandt has now confirmed he will challenge the ruling. “Travelers walking by are not going to check out just to have a cup of coffee. This is not inviting,” he told broadcaster AT5. He declined to comment further on the appeal.
The controversy began in 2020 when NS relocated ticket gates from inside the restaurant to the main station concourse. NS said the change was necessary because the system was frequently malfunctioning.
Brandt said the previous placement was far better for business because visitors who encountered the gates were already inside and could be welcomed by staff. Since the move, he argued, customers arriving by train were discouraged from visiting because they had to check out of the paid zone first.
The restaurant claimed it lost approximately 1.5 million euros in revenue since the end of the corona virus restrictions, when passenger numbers returned to pre-pandemic levels. Brandt maintained that only a small fraction of travelers who once came in from platform 2 still visit.
The restaurant demanded 952,227 euros in damages for lost profits, pledging to resume paying rent if compensated. But the court rejected that claim, finding that the gates were not part of the leased premises and that the station remains sufficiently accessible via two exterior routes.
The monthly rent for 1e Klas totaled 38,230 euros excluding VAT. Payment issues already existed before the current lease, signed in 2016. NS said it had given the business another chance to “start with a clean slate” in 2017 after previous disputes.
The court ruled that the interest of a “safe and efficient transport hub” outweighed those of the tenant. In addition to the overdue rent, the judge imposed a 764 euros penalty for every month since October 1, 2024, in which rent was not paid in full, plus 4,328 euros in legal costs. The restaurant must also pay the full rent from April 1, 2025, through the final month it occupies the space.
The building itself is a recognized monument, and NS has emphasized its intention to preserve the historic restaurant location. A spokesperson called the relationship with 1e Klas “a very unhappy marriage,” noting that earlier attempts to resolve issues had failed.
“The 1e Klas restaurant has a unique location and is part of the station,” NS said. “NS wants to preserve the monumental restaurant and will look for a new operator who can provide a good future use.”
The appeal is expected to be heard later this year. Until a decision is made, 1e Klas remains open in the station’s former first-class waiting room, where it has operated since 1987.
