Pioneers of the Zuidas – if there are any people who could claim this title it’s the Uittenbosch sisters, owners of Grand Café Dickys. Fourteen years ago, Janine and Anna took the brave step to open their restaurant at an otherwise empty Zuidas.
Anna (l) and Janine Uittenbosch PHOTO: OONA MAKES PICTURES
It was a risky step the sisters took as fourteen years ago the Zuidas was virtually empty, apart from the ABN Amro building and the ITO tower, where Dickys is located at ground level. “There was a scouting club and a tennis club. This area was more or less an extension of the Amsterdamse Bos. There was really nothing here”, Anna explains.
Special bond with ABN Amro
From day one, they managed to attract the local office workers. “Historically, there’s a special bond between Dickys and the ABN Amro. Their staff used to come and play in our parents’ squash centre. That’s why we didn’t need to think twice about the name of our restaurant”, Anna says.
‘Don’t forget that the Zuidas is almost like a village. People here all know each other and I don’t think that’ll change soon’
Fast-forward fourteen years and Dickys is as popular as ever. “A lot of things have happened at the Zuidas, but we haven’t really changed.”
Earlier we published stories with Martje Statema, Willemijn O’Connor and Marleen Evertsz.
Read the whole interview in our magazine; ZUIDAS. magazine is also in written in English and you can find a copy in every public area on the Zuidas.