The history of Heineken and De L'Europe goes back to the early twentieth century, when the hotel was purchased by Henry Pierre Heineken (1886-1971) and two friends. The second director of the brewery saw it as a nice place to receive and accommodate relations. Shortly after World War II, the Heineken company owned most of the shares. Eventually, the beer giant became the sole shareholder. Under the leadership of Alfred "Freddy" Heineken (1923-2002), who had joined the company in 1941 and would stay on until 1989, Heineken grew into a world-famous brand. The striking entrepreneur was a regular at Le Bar, De L'Europe's indoor café. In 1998, the bar changed its name to Freddy's, referring to the hotel's owner. Now, twenty-five years later, Freddy's Bar, under the inspired leadership of brand-new managing director Robert-Jan Woltering, is undergoing a thorough renovation. From June to August, the bar will transform into a grand café designed to breathe Freddy's history.
"When I came here in my new role, I held everything up to the light," Woltering explains. "I thought the completely restyled hotel had become insanely beautiful, a reflection of De L'Europe's rich history. Only I felt that Freddy's Bar no longer fitted in with today's De L'Europe, nor with what Heineken is and radiates. It was scarred by the ravages of time. For example, it still had a smoking area that was totally irrelevant. Why not turn it into something really beautiful, I wondered. A café like a tribute to Freddy, where after entering you walk through all the stages of his life and think: yes, I get it, this is Freddy's! We want to achieve that in part by displaying highlights from his life, including art, memorabilia and personal items from the Heineken Archives. Never fear, it won't be a museum, it will still be a pub. In fact, Freddy's Bar will be not only an ode to Freddy, but also a tribute to the tradition of the Grand Café. That idea, setting up Freddy's Bar as a tribute to its namesake, has been embraced by everyone, both internally and at the brewery." Of course, Heineken is more than just Freddy; it encompasses several generations and entire teams. But Freddy is the entrepreneur who made the company great and the marketer with brilliant inventions. The slogan "Delicious, Clear, Heineken" comes from his quiver and he has also changed things fundamentally when it comes to brand positioning. "It used to be Heineken's. But go explain that to an American. So he knocked the 's' off. He also introduced the smiling first 'e' to the Heineken name, tilting it so it became a smiley face, so to speak. That man was way ahead of his time."
That he was way ahead of his time is also evidenced by some of the memorabilia that will have a place in Freddy's Bar. In the renovated grand café, complete with chandeliers, lace curtains, Amsterdam curling letters, a central reading table and high tables by the window where you can enjoy a cappuccino in the morning overlooking the Amstel River, you will find, for example, the map of The United States of Europe, also called Eurotopia by Freddy. "Freddy was extremely committed to his environment. Besides making beer, he enjoyed taking other initiatives and thinking out of the box. And not just thinking, but thinking through and working out the details." With an ecologist, he looked into closing the hole in the ozone layer. And with the cooperation of historians Prof. Henk Wesseling and Wim van den Doel of Leiden University, he wrote a pamphlet in 1992 for a new division of Europe, in response to the Maastricht Treaty (establishment of the European Union, EU) and the Oporto Treaty in 1992 (establishment of the European Economic Area, EEA). Heineken saw the mutual power differences between nation states as an obstacle to European unification: the big countries could push too much of their own interests. Instead of governing a unified Europe from one central body, he preferred to see delegation of power to more or less autonomous regions, which otherwise should not differ too much in size. Heineken was thinking of 5 to 10 million inhabitants per region. That would lead to more efficient governance. Moreover, the geographic leveling of power would offer better chances for stability, equality and peace.
"He had an eye not only for world (politics), but also for the importance of science and technology," Woltering knows. "That's why Freddy established a number of major international science awards." Five of these Heineken Prizes are awarded every two years to individuals who have distinguished themselves in the fields of biochemistry and biophysics, historical science, medicine, environmental science and cognitive science; a sixth is awarded to a Dutch visual artist. The science prizes carry a cash prize of $200,000; the art prize includes a sum of 100,000 euros, half of which is earmarked for a publication or exhibition. Scientists from around the world can nominate colleagues for these awards. An independent jury of scientists, members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), chooses the prize winners from the nominations. The award ceremony takes place every even-numbered year at the Beurs van Berlage during a special session of the KNAW. The scientific Heineken Prizes are funded by the Alfred Heineken Fondsen Foundation, the Heineken Prize for the Arts by the Dr. A.H. Heineken Foundation for the Arts. "Freddy's Bar will house the Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics," Woltering says not without pride. This crystal trophy is a replica of a miniature microscope developed by the scholar Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, and symbolizes the advances within biochemistry and biophysics since the prize was established in 1963. "Isn't it amazing that this prize, Freddy's stimulus for science, will soon be part of our café?" The trophy was designed by Willem Heesen, one of the pioneers of free glass art, and manufactured by the Royal Dutch Glass Factory Leerdam. The most recent winner of the Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics is Carolyn Bertozzi, professor of chemistry and professor of chemical systems biology at Stanford University in California. She was awarded the prize in 2022 for her pioneering research on communication between cells and methods to influence it.
Read the entire article? The summer edition is a fresh cocktail of entrepreneurship and sports. In this edition, some entrepreneurs from the Champions League of business pass the review. Among them are Freddy Heineken and hospitality tycoon Richard Caring, whose expanding empire has been called the "restaurant equivalent of LVMH. Business is top sport, but top sport is also business. Take Formula 1: the sport is increasingly developing into an octopus with arms that touch all aspects within our society. Jaap de Groot examined how millions are being turned into billions. Furthermore, interviews with gymnast Sanne Wevers, two-star chef Guido Braeken, hotelier Robert-Jan Woltering, designer Maarten Baas and Rico so, together with his Naomy. The "King of Kickboxing" is also emerging as an octopus (with very strong arms): as an entrepreneur, he is active in various industries. "When I look back later, I don't want to think 'if only I had this or that.' I just want to, boom, accelerate, do fun things, enjoy myself." Boom, the new MASTERS: enjoy!
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