- Campus , People
- 13/03/2025
New coffee spot on campus: “Everything here has a story”
Great stories over a comforting cup of coffee – that is what coffee bar Bakkie040 wants to offer the campus. On Monday, it will open its doors in Terra, the new low-rise building between the residential towers Castor and Pollux. No commercial objectives, but a strong focus on social value and sustainability.
A month later than planned, Bakkie040 is opening its doors. “It’s a soft launch, so we can see if there are any teething problems,” say Mounir Toub and Lindsay Smulders. “What happens if we make a hundred cups of coffee or if the toilet is flushed four times in a row? How do people walk through the space?” The official opening will take place three weeks later. Toub will deploy his team from social welfare organization Springplank040 to run Bakkie040; Smulders will be responsible for the daily management.
Smulders designed the coffee bar’s layout. The stairs lead to a mezzanine with low sofas and a long countertop, creating a living room feel. “I’m happy to have been involved with Bakkie040 from the beginning. It’s great that it falls under Springplank. Springplank is a Brabant-based organization that helps homeless people find their place in society.” She explains that people have the option of buying a “Bakkie Troost”, a comforting cup of coffee. “That means you’re donating money for a cup of coffee for people who can’t afford it themselves.”
Dent
The Chesterfield sofa, the side tables, the vases and the pillows, the carpet tiles, almost all of the furnishings are secondhand. “Sometimes things have a little dent, just like people,” says Toub. The wood used for the counter and cabinet doors comes from leftover materials from the construction of Helmond City Hall. The staircase steps were left over from an ASML construction. Even the plants – bought from Pleegplantje – are given a second life at Bakkie040. Toub: “I want to work with circular products, and with custom work, many leftover materials have been made to fit.”
Delays
The Terra building was not designed to house a coffee bar, operator Toub summarizes as the reason for the delays. “Espresso requires four things,” he says, “love, electricity, water supply and water drainage. And the last three were not yet available.” This has caused Toub many headaches. “You can’t drill through the floor here because there’s underfloor heating and cooling.” With a great deal of creativity – the power now comes from above; the water comes in jerrycans – they managed to solve the problem. “But everything has been a challenge. The acoustics, the delayed delivery of the coffee machines, the non-functioning refrigeration for the pastries. Since starting this, I’ve become half a construction worker, half a contractor, half a barista, half a cook. And a whole person,” he laughs.
Art
Bakkie040 purchased all the materials using Springplank040’s budget, but the art was donated. ‘We leven om, te geven om’ [we live to care], reads a two-line neon wall light, written in the handwriting of poet Derek Otte. In addition to this donation, Otte also gifted a piece of art in the form of a clock where the numbers have been replaced with the words: you, are, okay, as, you, are, okay, as, you, are, okay, as. “The clock is set at the proverbial five to midnight to symbolize that, for many homeless people, the clock is ticking”. This clock is only visible from outside.
Artists from Atelier 56, a branch of Springplank040, drew the street plan of Eindhoven on the walls of the restrooms. They marked the locations of Bakkie040 (on the TU/e campus) and Bakkie040 Strijp with hearts.
Toub explains that it is difficult to estimate how busy it will be. But there is plenty of interest from students who would like to work there. “I’ve already received sixteen open applications,” he says. “But we’re starting with the staffing from Team Toub.”
Toub and Smulders are still negotiating with TU/e about the terrace and the cost of furnishing it. The grand opening on Sunday, April 6, will be festive. “Coffee and tea will be provided free of charge, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from donating a Bakkie Troost.”
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