Mike Vos had it clear in his mind: his own hospitality business on the Zeeland island of Goeree-Overflakkee. Centrally located between the cities of Breda and Rotterdam, it is a popular place to live: with peace, space, good schools and plenty of nature. "Many people in their thirties return to Middelharnis," Vos knows, "looking for quality of life". He knows all about it; the entrepreneur came back to the island himself. "It's lovely living here. The only thing missing was something of the city vibe."
Vos worked for many years at La Place, where he was responsible for Food & Retail. After the takeover by Jumbo, his departure from La Place and a period at Lekkerland, it was time for him to change tack. "I was driving 60,000 kilometres a year, I no longer needed to do that. I wanted to do something different, and live within cycling distance of my work from now on." That worked out. When the opportunity presented itself in Middelharnis, he took the plunge. "We started in 2018, in a shopping street around the corner here, with a smaller business. Apart from two tables in front of the door, there was no terrace. LLEV stands for Living, Latte e Vino: a cosy atmosphere is super important, with good coffee, nice wine and matching snacks. We are a bit more modern than Middelharnis was used to, with avocado dishes on the menu and lots of vegetarian options." It was a success from the very first moment. "Guests appreciated our addition, alongside the existing catering industry in Middelharnis. Looking back, I think: I should have done this much earlier."
The desire to expand took shape when a catering establishment on the harbour became available, with plenty of room for a terrace. "That coincided nicely with the renovation of the harbour. The municipality offered to let us use the lower jetty as a terrace, initially on a trial basis. There you sit at the level of the boats and yet sheltered thanks to the quay wall. It couldn't be more beautiful." The big challenge was to extend that special atmosphere of LLEV - the long, upholstered benches, rich colours like blue and orange combined with black and grey - outside as well. "The idea was to go 'inside out'. Inside we have a lot of sofas, we wanted the same outside."
Working out the concept was a lot of gut feeling and the years of experience Vos had gained at La Place and Lekkerland. For the interior styling, he engaged a stylist, Ilse van der Have. "A young designer with and enormous feel for our style and atmosphere. She started drawing and creating mood boards right away." Against the building are now generous benches with large cushions. In front of them are benches with a woven frame and upholstery in that typical petrol colour that also plays a leading role inside. There are also - as inside - standing tables for a high bar-seat. Rotan seats in black and black tables with anthracite tops complete the picture: warm, atmospheric but also modern and trendy.
Creating something that wasn't there before, and where there appears to be a need, is wonderful to do.
LLEV on the harbour opened just after the first lockdown and was full from day one. "We had a beautiful summer in 2020 and the terrace was also 'booming' right away. We succeeded in making that atmosphere from inside also tangible outside, with the wine barrel that refers to the V of 'vino' from LLEV but also with an eye for all the details. So you drink the best coffee with us, always with latte art - also on the terrace. We have our own glasses with our logo on them, everything has to look good. The menu is local as much as possible, with meat from the local artisan butcher and bread from the local bakery."
Two seasons later, Vos has actually only really changed one thing about the terrace: "There are now low oval tables near the benches on the harbour terrace. It soon turned out that our guests also wanted to eat extensively in the low seating, then a real table fits better than side tables." And that perfecting actually goes on forever, the entrepreneur believes. "I'm still looking for nice solutions for sunshades. We now have awnings on the façade and two separate parasols, surely we could do better. Of course, you don't want too many poles on your terrace, but you do want maximum roofing. I haven't found a really nice LLEV-style solution yet."
The terrace is in demand all day, Vos outlines. That starts with coffee, then lunch, followed by coffee again, drinks and dinner. "And then in the evening another drink on the terrace," he says. But the terrace is also in use year-round. "The focus is on the summer season, with a run-up to spring and late summer - depending on the weather. But basically anytime the weather permits and people want to sit outside, we facilitate that. We have a very nice façade terrace, which with the bench with thick cushions has a very warm feel. It's easy to sit there, sometimes the heaters come on in this area. But we find that, in sunny weather, people soon want to sit on the harbour terrace as well. Weather permitting, we also build that in winter. Just a few weeks ago, we had a very sunny winter weekend and then the whole terrace is full. Like it's summer." Even during corona, LLEV continued in modified form, with caterer and an outdoor bar on the terrace. "Then people bought hot drinks and goodies from us and consumed them on the quay wall," he says.
And that is exactly what Vos loves about being an entrepreneur in his own business. "The variation in the work, but also the active: that you can do what seems best to you at that moment. Just trying it out and seeing if it works. Creating something that wasn't there yet, and where there appears to be a need, is wonderful to do."
