As of today, the famous café 't Mandje at Zeedijk is open again, after the place had been closed since the start of the corona crisis in March 2020.

Café 't Mandje is 95 years old this year, making it the longest existing LGBT café in the Netherlands. It started on February 26, 1927 after the lesbian Bet van Beeren had taken over café Amstelstroom from her uncle and turned it into a place where everyone was welcome and allowed to be themselves.

Contrary to what is often said, 't Mandje was not the first gay bar in Amsterdam. The audience of dykes, whores, faggots, sailors and folk boys was too mixed for that. Real "nichtenkitten" where mainly gay men came at the time were a café in the Nes and Du Merlo which opened in 1929 at the Amstel 14.


Closing and reopening

After the death of Bet van Beeren in 1967, café 't Mandje was continued by her sister Greet van Beeren. When the Zeedijk became unlivable as a result of the heroin trade, 't Mandje also closed its doors in 1983, but during the Gay Games in 1998 the place was temporarily open again for a week.




't Mandje eventually remained closed for 25 years, until Diana van Laar, a niece of Bet and Greet van Beeren, reopened it on Queen's Night 2008. The unique interior with the countless old photos and paintings and the characteristic cut ties on the ceiling remained unchanged.


Corona crisis and sale

Like all clubs, bars and restaurants, 't Mandje also had to close on March 15, 2020 due to the measures to combat the coronavirus. However, the café at Zeedijk turned out to be too small to receive visitors at the mandatory 1,5 meters distance and was therefore forced to remain closed when other places could already open again.

This was financially unsustainable and therefore Diana van Laar sold 't Mandje in December 2020 to NV Zeedijk, an organization which manages real estate in a socially responsible manner. Subsequently, a foundation was set up to ensure that 't Mandje can continue to exist as a café and meeting place for LGBTI people.




New owners

New owners were found in Marinda Filk and Laura Molenkamp, ​​who ran the sandwich shop Prins Heerlijk at the end of Zeedijk until 2020. They actually already wanted to take over 't Mandje in 2020 together with bartender Orlando Lansdorf, who died prematurely last year.

Filk and Molenkamp can now put 't Mandje back on the map until mid-2023, after which it will temporarily close again to convert the upper floors into hotel rooms. The café and the living room of Bet van Beeren above will of course be left undisturbed.

The new owners now wanted 't Mandje to reopen for Pride Amsterdam as soon as possible, a festive official opening will follow at the end of August.


- See also: Illustrated history of 't Mandje

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