Deforestation in The Netherlands. Well, it’s not that trees are cut, but the list of tobacconists that are closing the doors in The Netherlands is growing and growing. In the recent past, we published articles about Augustus van Neer, Cigarros Adelaide, and Roks Sigaren. The three Davidoff shops in The Netherlands disappeared as well. The renowned store Eduard Dekkers in Heerlen is no longer around. And then we ignored all the smaller stores that called it quits. And against all these closures, only one new tobacconist opened: Van Dalen Amsterdam.

Two more closures

And at the end of this year, two more old stores are closing down. December 31st is the final day of Jansen Quicken in Roermond. A century-old tobacconist, but the third generation calls it quits. The tobacconist opened in 1920 and is still located at the same location in the inner-city of the diocese Roermond. Jansen Quicken is a true tobacconist, that sells nothing but tobacco and tobacco accessories. Pipes, pipe tobacco, cutters, humidors, cigars, you name it, they have it. But on December 31st it’s all over. The owners Hetty and Clemens Horbach told us that the upcoming legislation takes all the fun away. 

Another shop that is closing the doors on that date is Tobacconist Paul de Wilde. Also a store with a lot of history. Current owners, Paul and Yvonne De Wilde acquired the shop in 1982, 38 years ago. But before then, it was also a tobacconist store. De Wilde is closing the doors due to regulation. He’s approaching retirement age and all the new legislation is wearing him out. From January 1st, all windows need to be covered so nobody can see inside anymore. That is the final straw for De Wilde. He sold the building to an investor and with his loyal customer cigar community, he will smoke out the place on the last day of opening.

More to come?

And it probably won’t end here. There are quite a few famous shops in The Netherlands with owners that are over retirement age. Most of them don’t have successors, and their only option is to close the shop when they want to stop working, or when health forces them to. Take Wum Otten in Maastricht for example, a small store with a lot of history. The store opened in 1933 by Wum’s father. And Wum is running the shop for more than 50 years now. Without children to pass the store to, he will close in the near future. Banks won’t finance potential buyers, and the people that have money won’t invest it into tobacco. 

Another tobacconist that faces the same problem is Hans van Werven Cigars in Apeldoorn. A tobacconist with a 101-year-old history. Owner Hans van Werven is a well-known character in the Dutch cigar community and meeting Hans is an event in itself. But Hans is in his seventees and doesn’t have successors either. It’s just a matter of time before he has to close his store, which is also a tobacco and accessory museum. Not by intention though, but over the last 100 years, Van Werven accumulated plenty of historical items.

Photo credit header Tim Mossholder on Unsplash