The businessmen behind Watertoren and Ruby Rose are buying the former staircase in Utrecht from the Westbroek family

Mariaplaats' NOLA catering business has been sold and will soon make way for a new company. NOLA has been in the building, which previously existed, for several years Stairway to Heaven was founded by Henk Westbrook. The business has now been taken over by the entrepreneurs who are also behind De Watertoren and Ruby Rose, among others.

“It all happened so fast,” he says. Wechert van RijnWho bought the company from previous owner Henk Westbrook. “We did not want to start with a new concept before we were sure that the funding was available. This is the case now and that is why we are busy in preparations.

It is not yet known exactly what the new work will look like. Van Rijn strives to give it a different interpretation from other catering establishments in the city. “It is of course a beautiful site to be honoured. The business will be run by guys from De Watertoren and Ruby Rose, so everything will be fine,” says Van Rijn.

More information is expected to be known in a few weeks about the precise details of the case. It will be a while before the doors of Mariaplaats open again. Van Rijn: “We are working hard on the plans, but there is still a bit of guesswork as to the exact date we will open. It is expected to be in August or September.”

Stairway to heaven

The building on Mariaplaats has a long history in catering. From 1972 to the mid-1990s Disco Cartouche fall there. In 1995, Henk Westbrook opened Stairway to Heaven, a store filled with gold records and guitars. Later it became just a ladder.

In 2020 the Stairway was announced The doors will close. Chrissie Westbroek, Henk Westbroek's daughter, opened there in 2020 after a major renovation Nola. This situation is now giving way to a new concept.