A RICH HISTORY

With almost a hundred hotels and a family member at the helm in virtually every location, Van der Valk is a unique family business worldwide. A large family that works together so intensively for so long naturally leads to beautiful stories. Read more below about the origin and the home-away-from-home feeling for both the employee and the guest.

"There is a living room on the hatch"! This statement can often be heard in many Van der Valk restaurants. For a layman, it means that a staff meal is ready. The hatch refers to the pass-through window, which used to connect the kitchen with the dining room in the first Van der Valk restaurants. And why is the staff meal called a living room? Because it used to be enjoyed in the living room of the Van der Valk family themselves.

The three sisters Riet Broeks, El de Bruijn, and Wil Polman belong to the eldest of the third generation and still have some stories to tell. El: "We always lived in the business De Bijhorst, until we were with five children. There was no staff canteen back then, so everyone always came to eat in our living room." Riet: "There wasn't much staff back then and there was always a lot of family around." Wil: "At some point, my mother had enough. It wasn't a real living room anymore with different people always around. That's when we moved to an attached house behind the restaurant."

How it all began...

Martinus Van der Valk was the youngest child in a family of 24 children. Perhaps that is why he saw opportunities everywhere and seized them. "You have to pick up the lettuce plants that someone else throws away," his father had instilled in him, and he took that to heart his whole life. After his mother's death in 1929, he inherited their Farm De Gouden Leeuw in Voorschoten, along with a café. He cleverly took advantage of the opportunities that arose. Once, he traded a horse for a car, but the next day the car wouldn't start. To still enjoy his acquisition, Martinus mounted the car wheels under his horse-drawn cart, making it silent! Other cart owners came to Martinus for tires, and he became successful in the car trade. This kept him on the road a lot, and he noticed that you couldn't eat as well anywhere outside as you could at home. This gave him an idea for the café! Soon, the guests there could also enjoy delicious food.

While Martinus continued to run the car dealership, his wife Riet managed the café. They also had a total of twelve children. It was hard work in the Van der Valk family, they never sat still. Martinus was the man of ideas, as he had decided that he wanted to acquire a business for each child. Riet made sure the work was done, while Martinus searched for suitable hospitality businesses to take over. However, the children did not receive the businesses as a gift, they had to work hard for them. And they did, following their father's philosophy. The businesses Martinus bought were usually struggling financially, but he saw potential in them. After all, you had to pick up someone else's lettuce plants!

In the eighties and nineties, the growth of the company was very rapid. Not only poorly performing catering establishments were taken over, but also a lot of new ones were built. Two sons of Martinus who increasingly took the lead were Arie and Gerrit van der Valk. Arie mainly took care of the financial side of the company, Gerrit was the more entrepreneurial of the two and the face of the company to the outside world. And the whole family pitched in: "If the kids can stand, they can also wash glasses," grandfather Martinus had once said.

Work hard, have fun

For all the Van der Valk children, the family business meant that they had to start working at an early age. Riet Luiten: “We spent entire Sundays folding tablecloths so that they would fit in the planters between the tables, shelling beans, polishing silver... There was always plenty of work to do, and my mother always made sure we stayed busy.” El: “She always made it into a big party. It was always a competition for the whole family, for example, to see who could shell the most beans or fold the most tablecloths, and there was always a reward for working.” Riet: "White bread with cheese, for example, or we were allowed to go boating. It was also fun because friends and cousins helped out too, so we were always a big group. In the evening after work, we always had a big meal together. My mother didn't allow staff to come to our new house anymore, but there were already nine of us children, plus partners, and there were always cousins around, so the table was always full. Eating was really a festive occasion, which I think is why I always enjoy eating so much,“ laughs the eldest sister. El: ”I really had a fantastic childhood.

My parents worked a lot, but because the company was at home, I always felt like they were there."

Meanwhile, since the start, over a hundred years have passed. Many branches have been added in the Netherlands, as well as in Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, and the Dutch Antilles. The fourth generation is taking over from the third generation, and in some hotels, the fifth generation is already involved. Recently, even the first member of the sixth generation has been born. It is not mandatory to enter the hospitality industry, but there are few family members who would let such a unique opportunity to contribute to such a special company pass by. They are building together towards even more beautiful and better businesses, so they can pass them on to the next generation. Just as Martinus once envisioned.

Second home

People who work there often consider Van der Valk as a second home, but guests also feel welcome, thanks to the typical homely atmosphere that the hotels exude. This is of course primarily because Van der Valk is a true family business, with family members who are also present daily. The interior is modern, but above all cozy. The hotels are designed for whole families, almost always with a play area in the restaurants, and the menu offers something for everyone. In the past, you could go to Van der Valk for 'good food just like at home'. Nowadays, the hotels try to take a step further in culinary experience. One thing, however, has remained unchanged: a visit to Van der Valk feels like coming home, enjoying good food, drinks, and sleeping well in a cozy environment.

Why the Toucan?

It is one of the most frequently asked questions to the Van der Valk family: why do you have a toucan on your roof instead of a falcon? The answer can be found in the purchase of the bird park Avifauna. The family was looking for a symbol for the entire family. Just after the war, many people still had unpleasant memories of the raptor symbolism used by the Nazis. As Gerrit van der Valk said: "When a falcon sleeps, it's nothing and when it goes hunting, it's like an eagle. A toucan is a beautiful, large, tropical bird, a cheerful creature, a friendly creature, which suits us much better."