Bye Bye, Basket

Be it for the casual customers, such as the students who only stop by now and then, or regulars like "soup guy" Roelant, who often goes there to eat soup after work, The Basket has established itself as a familiar sight for everyone and home to some. The grand café opened in 2003, replacing the bar The Uithof In. For a long time, it was the only place where people could have a beer or glass of wine at Utrecht Science Park.

The Basket's inauguration in 2003. Photo: DUB

Since then, The Basket has become the setting for countless farewell and graduation parties, as well as lunches and pub quizzes. The basketball field on the roof gives the restaurant a memorable and unique look. It even won an award for Best Design from the Netherlands Architecture Institute. The fact that it's the only place at Science Park that features a big terrace is also appreciated by numerous people.

The Basket. Photo: DUB

Some guests have particular reasons for visiting The Basket around lunchtime, such as the three International Business students from the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (HU), whom we meet upon entering the place. They are enjoying a cold beer with a teacher. “It’s the only place on campus that serves beer before noon,” explains Luuk. “Other places only serve beer from four o'clock onwards. But, here, students can calmly enjoy a pint, it's nice.” Everyone at the table laughs.

Classmate Gijs says: “Yes, it makes this spot more spontaneous than all the other places on campus. If you put it this way, it sounds less alcoholic.” Boris adds: “Let’s be honest, we only come to The Basket because it’s the only place on campus where we can have beer at this hour.”

Gijs delivers another set of soothing words: “We also visit because it offers a more hospitable experience. At spots like the Cambridge Bar, for example, you have to order at the bar. Here, they bring your order to the table. Besides, in the other places, you can only order a panini and that’s it. The Basket has a more extensive menu.”

The Basket. Photo: DUB

Apart from the benefit of early drinking, the students are not affected by the fact that The Basket will close. But colleagues Sylvie, Petra and Jolanda, who work at the research institute TNO (Applied Natural Science Research), lament the closure. After all, they are regulars at The Basket. “It is so sad that it will close. Whenever there is a farewell party or another festive occasion, we hold the reception here. It is also very close by for a quick lunch, we will miss all of that,” says Sylvie. 

Pub quiz in The Basket. Photo: Huub Jansen

Pub quiz
In addition, The Basket used to organise a pub quiz every second Monday of the month. Unfortunately, the event has been discontinued and it is unclear whether or not Grand Café Living will keep the tradition. Quiz master Huub Jansen, who was in charge of the event these past few years, always enjoyed preparing the quiz.  

“I’m an avid pub quiz participant myself and I love hosting. If you give me a microphone, that's it. My wife saw a post by The Basket on Facebook saying they were looking for a quiz master. 'Hey Huub, that's you!' she told me. I sent an e-mail right away and that's how I became their quiz master." It was an eight-round pub quiz, with music and pictures of celebrities. The venue was always packed and the atmosphere was great. Around 18 teams would participate on an average night. There were a few die-hard ones, of which Tagteam would be the one that would almost always win, but other teams, such as 4Spek & Bonen and 4Bacon & Beans usually finished in the top 5. Most people joined in just for fun.

Former UU employee Marnix van der Schilt is a regular pub quiz guest. He was part of the team Statler and Waldorf, who passionately participated in The Basket's pub quiz for over six years. "The girlfriend of one of my friends said that our team resembled Statler and Waldorf from The Muppets. We are the two oldest members, so that name suits us. We are decent people but we are pretty dedicated to the pub quiz, so we curse sometimes, even though that's not the culture here on campus. Sometimes, we'd get a few surprised looks our way."

Hostess Nathalie van Asch and sous chef Wiwid Sasmita. Photo: Nathalie van Asch

The Team
Nathalie van Asch (26) and sous chef Wiwid Sasmita (45) are sad that The Basket will close its doors. Both ladies have enjoyed working there for years and have built a warm relationship with other team members and regularcustomers. Luckily, the whole team will be transferred to the new Grand Café Living, and the ladies hope to see regular customers there too. For now, looking back on their time at The Basket sprouts some fond memories.

Nathalie van Asch: “My mother saw an internship vacancy at The Basket online, that’s how I ended up here. I continued to work for the restaurant after my internship was over. To me, the closure is quite emotional, as The Basket has been a huge part of my life, I've been working here since I was 19. To me, the Basket means a warm welcome and being close to the customers; it feels like home. There is a regular customer whom we call the soup man. he always comes for a cup of soup in the afternoon after teaching. I told him about his nickname and he loved it. I chat with him after work sometimes.”

Wiwid Sasmita, aka Mama Basket, is sorry to see her "second home" disappear. 

"The Basket has a special place in my heart. This is my first, and only, job in the Netherlands. I moved from Sumatra to the Netherlands 13 years ago. I have been working here for almost 10 years, I’m like the grandmother of the place." 

"The Basket's mother, huh”, smiles van Asch.

Wiwid: “We team members love to joke around. For example, Nathalie has to be very careful with her glass of iced tea right now. If she looks away for a moment, I'll throw some pepper in it”, Sasmita teases. “I never wanted to work anywhere else, it has always been great here. Some of the customers know me personally and specifically ask me to bring their food to the table. I made my own sambal from Sumatra for a regular customer once. He asked for it when I told him I was from there. Another customer often says, 'Wiwid, just make something for me.' Some of them feel like family.”

Party at the Basket. Photo: The Basket

The Basket has to close its doors because of the renovation of the Van Unnik, which is about to start. It will probably close for good. It is unclear what will happen to the space currently occupied by The Basket, but Jorg Wiedijk, Marketing Manager for Brothers Horeca Group (BHG), the company running the restaurant, says that the original restaurant will not return. Grand Café Living will replace it permanently. 

After multiple delays, The Basket is set to close its doors at the end of March, after which Grand Café Living, a brand-new restaurant next to the Sheep Meadow at Padualaan, will open. BHG, the operator of both The Basket and the new venue, informs DUB that the inauguration will include a housewarming week with daily events, such as a DJ performance, and changing menus. The housewarming week should happen on the first week of April, but the dates are still subject to change if the construction work takes longer.