{"id":1149,"date":"2016-12-29T08:57:36","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T07:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=64014\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:06","slug":"geen-bierhol-meer-maar-nog-wel-het-oude-smitse-gevoel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/12\/29\/geen-bierhol-meer-maar-nog-wel-het-oude-smitse-gevoel\/","title":{"rendered":"Brand new but still the old ‘Smitse feeling’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoshua Kruter<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

It certainly smells differently. Visitors are no longer welcomed by the pong of stale beer: for the next few months, they\u2019ll mainly be smelling new furniture. And the bar has moved house too: from Mandeville to Hatta, where they expanded their floor space by 50 square metres to 250 in total. In terms of capacity, this means they can accommodate 600 people. And a bit more during the warmer months, when De Smitse can set up a large terrace in front of the premises.<\/p>\n

They closed the old place. Last week some 300 fans bid their farewell \u2013 some of them slightly teary-eyed. At the management\u2019s request, they scrawled some of their memories of the place on the walls. Although we\u2019re still slightly confused by one F.\u2019s assertion that \u2018eating pussy is for gays\u2019. Whatever the case, these prose bouquets \u2013 including \u2018a grim atmosphere is an atmosphere too\u2019 \u2013 will soon be gone, when an RSM lab arises at the former site of the bar.<\/p>\n

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Grand opening<\/h3>
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But let\u2019s return to the new building, where De Smitse held its \u2018soft opening\u2019 this week. The idea was to dot the i\u2019s and cross the t\u2019s, according to board member Coen (23). Put in weather strips, check the taps \u2013 stuff like that. The grand opening has been planned for the second week of January. They\u2019ve already booked a band and ordered the Fl\u00fcgels for the \u2018Fl\u00fcgel party\u2019. With raised eyebrows and a smile: \u201cIt\u2019s going to be super nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whereas the old bar was a cosy traditional-style \u2018brown caf\u00e9\u2019, the new place looks quite trendy. Professionalised, is the way Coen puts it. One end has an American feel, with booth tables and an illuminated Coca-Cola sign up on the wall.<\/p>\n

Lounge corner<\/h3>

And of course \u2013 to tick another hipster box \u2013 they even have a lounge corner. It has big comfy chairs, which at first glance appear ideal for drinking boutique-roasted coffee. But to our relief, Coen shakes his head: \u201cWe only serve beer here, we don\u2019t do coffee.\u201d Although the place is intended to be presentable enough to host socials held by larger players like ESR.<\/p>\n

One thing Coen does say with some emphasis: they didn\u2019t want to lose that special \u2018Smitse feeling\u2019. That\u2019s one thing he and his predecessors \u2013 because this move has actually been years in the making \u2013 constantly insisted on with the contractor. And this means that at the back of the new bar you can still find a friendly little corner with part of the old bar counter. As well as the original tables and piano. In the near future, this section can be rented by, for example, student associations. The plan is for them to use it for bar lectures and the like. \u201cWe aren\u2019t the dive bar we used to be, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t