The Last Bite: How Amsterdam Market Vendors Are Fighting Off Chain Grocery Stores

Welcome back to The Last Bite, our new column documenting the survival of traditional food establishments in a ramen-slurping, matcha latte-sipping, novelty cafe-obsessed world. As cities develop and dining habits change, can the dive bars, markets, and defiantly untrendy restaurants keep up?

Here, we talk to longstanding bartenders, chefs, market stall holders, and restaurant owners to find out what the future may hold. In the latest installment, we speak to some of Amsterdam's oldest market vendors to see how big box supermarkets are changing the produce landscape across the city.

Whether you're a customer or a vendor, everybody has their own reason for loving Amsterdam's street markets. Unfortunately, theses days, lots of grocery chains are using extremely competitive prices to lure customers to their stores, silently pushing the street market scene towards extinction.

There are tens to hundreds of daily market stalls in every part of the city, but Saskia Spijkers, a city market affairs representative, tells me that the number of stalls is dramatically decreasing. "Nowadays there are less visitors which makes it harder for vendors to make a living. People don't want to stand in the cold all day, so they end up finding other jobs. Or they grow older, and since the stalls have to be passed down through the family, they can't find relatives who are willing to take over the businesses for them."

Thankfully, the city of Amsterdam is working hard to make market life attractive again. "We plan on easing the rules so that vendors can transfer the rights their stalls to their employees, though that process is still in the very early stages," Spijkers explains.

I stopped by five different markets around the city to speak to vendors about their most horrific memories from the other side of the stall and get their thoughts on what needs to change to keep these markets from turning into dinosaurs.

Take your bike deep into the center of Amsterdam-Noord and you'll end up at Buikslotermeerplein, a square that harbors 24 market stalls offering a diverse swath of food products: there's a poultry man, a cheesemonger, a sweets vendor, a nut stand, and several fresh fruit and vegetable stalls. Every Saturday, the selection is supersized by regional farmers from around The Netherlands who make the trek into the city to sell their wares. But for many vendors here, paid parking is part of what's killing this place.

Market Vendor: Frank Frank has been working at the market for 17 years and occasionally wears the same sweater as his co-worker to increase the "cute factor" of selling the vegetables and nuts he's manning. "My worst day ever was when a hurricane blew over Amsterdam. The weather forecaster hadn't mentioned it, but we watched black clouds and high winds slowly creep into the city. It got so dark outside, it felt like it was nighttime. All the awnings and stalls blew up like toy umbrellas and cash registers tumbled through the streets. It was complete chaos. Someone hurt his head pretty badly and visitors plundered the stalls in the middle of the storm."

Market Vendor: Ed "You can tell that the street market isn't what it used to be in Amsterdam Noord now that you have to pay for all the parking spots around the Buikslotermeerplein. People used to come down to the market to shop and chat with the market vendors, but if people have to pay for that, they'd rather go to a supermarket where they don't have to pay parking fees."

Market Vendor: Leo Leo is the godfather of the Bos-en Lommer market. He started helping his parents at the market at 16, but these days, he's manning an impressive fruit and vegetable stand with one employee. He used to have two stalls and fifteen employees, but since there's so few shoppers these days, he does everything. "You'll hear market vendors say that everything used to be better, but that's not true. Back in the day, my mom couldn't even buy me shoes. But it used to be more fun. When we started the market, we'd play the occasional football match of football and wrap up the week with a beer. There's not even a bar anymore and there's more jealousy than comradary."

According to Leo, the market's feel, and with it its visitor numbers, has been going down ever since the Bos- en Lommerplein was renovated.

"Since the renovation, this has been an awful square. This place has officially been named the ugliest square in Holland. If you come here, you don't get the feeling you're on a market. There's also not enough diversity in the stalls that we have here. No wonder no one shows up to buy stuff."

Market Vendor: Claus Claus is the only fishmonger on the Bos- en Lommer market, and that's exactly why he won't leave, no matter how ugly the square has become. "The fish I sell is as fresh as can be, and it's cheaper than the supermarket quality that's out there. This place used to be packed, but that's not the case anymore. I remember setting a table up next to my stall to make it livelier, but the city won't let me do that anymore. Look at this broken up street: people are falling all over the place. It's insane."

Cross the Kinkerstraat to Ten Katemarkt, a market that's been a part of Amsterdam-West for 103 years. From Monday to Saturday, you can get great deals there as you wiggle yourself through packed crowds carrying big shopping bags.

Market Vendor: Asker

There's no one on the Ten Katenmarkt who shouts "lady" as charmingly as Asker. Three days a week, you can find him at the Ten Katenmarket selling nuts and olives. "I traveled from Turkey to Holland 13 years ago and immediately started as a market vendor. By working on the market, I learned Dutch. The first words I learned were the names of all the kinds of nuts."

This year, his sister, Özgül started working with him, making and selling gözleme, a savory Turkish dish made with potato, feta cheese, and spinach.

Marktkramer: Dan Dan fell in love with the Ten Katenmarkt when he was starting out: "This market is the embodiment of the character of the Oud-West neighborhood. It's beautiful and everybody comes here. We don't really notice it slowing down here, really. We can't let Amsterdam's street market culture die."

In 1963, Plein '40-'45 was the most modern market in Amsterdam. Nowadays, the square has been strangled by an indoor shopping mall, a supermarket, and a bunch of restaurants.

Marktkramer: Rakesh "When I was 18, I traveled from northern India to Amsterdam. I sold ladies clothes at the market until late last year, when I switched to fruit and vegetables to make more money. The competition is tough so I have to sell my wares very cheaply. Consequently, I don't have huge profits. I have to come up with a solution of what to do with the leftovers at the end of the day. Right now, I donate the stuff that I can't sell to a farm."

Market Vendor: MiguelMiguel makes the best fries in Amsterdam West, which you can tell by the amount of people crowding the tiny tables surrounding his stall.

"This stall has been here for more than 50 years. It belonged to my in-laws before I took it over 15 years ago. The work means freedom to me: you're outside and amongst the people. The market is one of the few places where people in Amsterdam still openly talk to each other. It's a pity, but it's true. We must make sure we don't lose the market life." I couldn't agree more with Miguel, and hope that these stalls don't disappear forever.