More restaurants and catering, fewer bars and cafés

© ANP / EPA REMKO DE WAAL
The number of restaurants in the Netherlands has increased by 58 percent since 2007, and the number of event catering businesses has increased by more than sixfold. On the other hand, the number of bars and cafés has decreased by 33 percent. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the most recent figures on the enterprise population in the Netherlands.
The total number of food and beverage establishments increased by 83 percent between 1 October 2007 and 1 October 2024, from nearly 38 thousand to 69 thousand. However, the largest growth was seen among sole traders in event catering. Excluding event catering, there was a 25 percent growth in food and beverage establishments.

Most food and beverage businesses involved event catering (27 thousand establishments), followed by restaurants (16 thousand), other eateries, such as snack bars, fast food restaurants, lunchrooms, food stalls and ice cream parlours (16 thousand), including bars and cafés (8 thousand), canteens and contract caterers (1 thousand).


Growth seen among sole traders in event catering, in particular

The number of sole traders in the food and beverage business almost tripled between 2007 and 2024. This is actually nearly 10 times more than it was in 2007. If small businesses are excluded, growth in businesses offering food and beverages was 32 percent instead of 83 percent.


Food and beverage establishments in Flevoland tripled

A business can have multiple establishments, which is why there were more food and beverage establishments (over 74 thousand) than businesses (nearly 68 thousand on 1 January 2024). The number of sole traders in the food and beverage business has grown the fastest the province of Flevoland, where it has almost tripled between 2007 and 2024. Two provinces that also ranked in the top three for highest economic growth were Noord-Holland and Utrecht. These provinces also had the highest population growth rate compared with 2007.

Nearly half of all food and beverage establishments in the Netherlands

The majority of food and beverage establishments are located in Noord-Holland (25 percent), Zuid-Holland (21 percent) and Noord-Brabant (13 percent). These three provinces combined account for 59 percent of all food and beverage establishments in the Netherlands.


Highest number of food and beverage establishments per capita in Noord-Holland

Noord-Holland, with more than 600 food and beverage establishments per 100 thousand residents, remains the province with the highest number of establishments per capita. The relatively touristy provinces such as Zeeland (nearly 500 per 100 thousand residents) and Limburg (more than 400 per 100 thousand residents) ranked second and fourth, respectively.
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