FROM THE PANCAKE BAKER TO THE MULTI-HOTELIER

With over one hundred hotels, almost all run by members of the family, Van der Valk is a family business like no other. A large family that has worked together for so long continually produces interesting stories. Read here about the founding of the company and the lovely feeling of being at home that guests and employees experience at Van der Valk.

Our house in Melle was opened in 2001 by Han and Ine Van der Eijk, among others, together with their young son Thijs. Afterwards, Lucie Luiten-Simons and Thymen Simons, as well as Alex and Roxanne Luiten and Cas Polman and Lotte van Baak, successfully continued to run our hotel. Since 2024 Thijs van der Eijk is back in Melle and runs the house together with his partner Maril van der Stegen.

„There's a living room in the pass-through“! This saying is still heard in many Van der Valk restaurants. It means, for the layperson, that the staff meal is ready. The pass-through connected the kitchen with the dining room in the first Van der Valk restaurants. But why is the staff meal called the living room? It is called that because the early employees used to dine in the living room of the Van der Valk family.

The three siblings Riet Broeks, El de Bruijn and Wil Polman are among the oldest of the third generation and still remember very well. El de Bruijn: "We lived with five siblings in the restaurant 'Bijhorst' and at that time had no canteen, so all employees took their meals in the family's living room." Riet Broeks: "At that time we still didn't have very many employees and there were always family members in our home." Wil Polman: "My mother eventually realised that we no longer had a proper living room, because so many people were always in the house — so we moved into a house that was built behind the restaurant."

How it all began…

Martinus Van der Valk was the youngest of 24 siblings. Maybe that is the reason why he took every opportunity that presented itself. ‘Pick up every lettuce leaf that others carelessly throw away,’ his father always said — he took those words to heart. After his mother died in 1929, he bought the farm de Gouden Leeuw in Voorschoten; the farm also included a café. He made use of every opportunity in a clever way. Once he traded a horse for a car that wouldn’t start the next day. To still get something out of the deal, Martinus mounted the car’s wheels on his horse-drawn carriage, which thus ran silently. Shortly afterward other carriage owners came to buy wheels for their carriages from him. He was also successful in the car trade. Before that time Martinus traveled around a lot. He found that you couldn’t eat anywhere as well as at home. That was how the idea for the café was born, and soon guests could eat deliciously there.

Martinus continued to work in the car trade while his wife Riet ran the café. They had no fewer than 12 children and worked hard and rarely rested. Martinus had many ideas and visions. One of them was that he would acquire a business for each of his 12 children. While Riet took over his duties, Martinus searched for suitable companies to buy. Their children did not receive the businesses as gifts; on the contrary, they had to work hard for them. Their children did so as well, in accordance with the father's philosophy. Martinus often bought companies that were in poor financial shape in order to make them successful again — after all, he had been taught to pick up every lettuce leaf that others throw away.

In the eighties and nineties the company grew rapidly. Not only were existing businesses acquired, but new locations were built in particular. Martinus' sons Arie and Gerrit van der Valk began to take the lead in running the company. While Arie took care of the finances, Gerrit was more of an entrepreneur and representative. The whole family always helped: "If children can walk, they can also wash glasses," grandfather Martinus once said.

Hard work, lots of fun

All the children of the Van der Valk family began working in the family business at an early age. Ruit Luiten: „We spent our Sundays folding tablecloths, shelling beans or polishing cutlery. There was always something to do and my mother made sure that we always had enough work.“  El de Bruijn: „ She always made a big game out of it and turned everything into a competition. Whoever, for example, shelled the most beans or folded the most tablecloths received a reward. Riet: „There was white bread with cheese or we could go sailing. It was very cozy, because friends and cousins helped as well and we were always a large group. In the evening, after work, we always had a lavish, shared dinner. My mother no longer allowed the staff to enter the new house. Nevertheless the table with nine children, friends and cousins was always full. Meals were celebrated, which is probably the reason why I still love to eat to this day,“ says the eldest sister laughing. El: „I had a really fantastic childhood. My parents did work a lot, but because our business was located right next to our house, they were always there.“

More than a hundred years have now passed since the start, and numerous locations have been added. In addition to the Netherlands, also in Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and the Netherlands Antilles. Gradually the fourth generation is taking over the businesses in the properties; in some hotels the fifth generation has even already started working, and recently the first member of the sixth generation was born. The family's children are not required to work in the hospitality industry, yet very few let the unique opportunity to successfully help shape the family business pass them by. They work together and create more attractive and better business models, which they in turn can pass on to the coming generation – entirely in the spirit of Martinus.

Second home

The people who work for Van der Valk often consider it their second home, and guests feel particularly welcome because of the family atmosphere. The family-like ambiance is lived every day at the family business Van der Valk through the presence of the family members. The decor is modern but above all it is cozy. The hotels are tailored to families, so that nearly all restaurants have a play corner and there is also something tasty for children on the menu.

In the past, Van der Valk cooked the way guests cooked at home. Nowadays the hotels try to take one step further and offer guests a special culinary experience. One thing, however, has not changed over the years: the good feeling of coming home, enjoying delicious food and drinks, and sleeping comfortably in a cosy environment.

Why the toucan?

It is the most frequently asked question to the Van der Valk family: "Why do they have a toucan and not a falcon in the logo?" The answer lies in the purchase of the Avifauna bird park. The family was looking for a symbol for the entire family. After World War II nothing positive was associated with birds of prey in the Netherlands, since they had been used by the Nazis as a symbol. Thus Gerrit Van der Valk said: "As long as the falcon sleeps there is nothing; but when he hunts, he looks like an eagle. A toucan is a beautiful, large tropical bird, a cheerful and sociable creature, which suits us much better." The toucan that served as the model adorned the menu at Avifauna.