The Basket closed due to renovation works in the Van Unnik building
Temporary bar and restaurant facility in Utrecht Science Park
The temporary grand café on Padualaan under construction. Photo: DUB
Grand café The Basket has to close its doors at the end of this year due to large-scale works on the adjacent Van Unnik building. The tallest building on the university site is undergoing a thorough transformation.
A temporary restaurant facility is being built to allow students and staff in the centre area to have a cup of coffee, some drinks, lunch, or dinner somewhere over the next five years.
Passers-by have noticed a wooden building being erected between the car park and the tram stop at Padualaan recently. The portacabins in the car park itself, in which teaching was carried out as a stopgap measure last year, are now gone.
Cosy meeting place
The Basket's current operator, Brothers Hospitality Group (BHG), informs DUB that it will also operate the new venue, which will be named “Grand Café The Living”. Last month, a bar and restaurant facility with the same name was launched at VU Amsterdam.
According to Jorg Wiedijk, marketing manager for BHG, this is a new concept. The grand café should become a cosy meeting place with a homely ambience. He also promises to pay great attention to sustainability regarding the products on offer and the layout and decoration of the restaurant.
The new venue should be able to accommodate 120 visitors, and the terrace on the side of the adjacent Sheep Meadow will have space for an equal number of customers. According to Wiedijk, there will also be a separate room which can be booked for special gatherings.
Diligence
UU confirms that talks are ongoing with Brothers Hospitality Group about the new location; however, no final agreement has been reached. Both parties declined to comment on the content of the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the hospitality company has already posted a vacancy for a chef and also announced a grand opening on Monday 29 January, to be followed by a housewarming week. UU says it has "taken note" of BHG’s diligent approach.
Artist’s impression of the new The Living / Brothers Media Group
No demolition
It’s not yet clear whether the space currently occupied by The Basket will be rezoned to hospitality in five years' time. This is still being researched as part of the planning for the Van Unnik building. After the renovation, the building will house the teaching and research facilities of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the offices of the Administration building.
In any case, the characteristic building will not be demolished. Because of its remarkable architecture, with a basketball court on the roof and a skate court in front, the municipality intends to declare The Basket a ‘young monument’. In 2004, The Basket won the award for Best Design from the Netherlands Architecture Institute.