Grand Café Staatsman

Grand Café Staatsman is located at Diezerstraat 80 in Zwolle. The venue is situated in the city center, right in the heart of the shopping district. The business operates out of a building with a historical function. Its own description places the grand café in a Rijksmonument connected to the former Statenzaal complex.

According to available business information, Grand Café Staatsman has been active since May 2023. The history page mentions that the doors opened in mid-May 2023. This makes the business a relatively new player in the Zwolle hospitality scene, albeit in a location with a long administrative history.

Public sources name Henk Schippers and Arno de Boer of De Horecamannen as the operators of the grand café. Regarding their background, it is noted that Arno de Boer worked for years as a manager and host in the hospitality industry. Henk Schippers is described as someone who has helped various organizations start, develop, and grow.

In the same development surrounding De Staatsman, a hotel and hostel are also mentioned. In the available information, these components are linked to Andries van der Veen and Marie-José van der Vegt. The grand café does not stand alone, but is part of a broader repurposing of the former provincial building.

The concept blends a restaurant, grand café, and event venue, with the setting in a monumental building playing a central role. For those of us following the specialty coffee scene, the real question is how coffee is integrated into this broader hospitality concept, though the available information provides limited detail on this front.

The provided research mentions De Eenhoorn as the roaster. However, no specific public statement was found where Grand Café Staatsman explicitly confirms De Eenhoorn as their coffee supplier. That said, De Eenhoorn is documented as the coffee and tea supplier for other locations managed by De Horecamannen, including Engel Winkelcafé and Kantine Bij de Boer.

The menu at Grand Café Staatsman primarily mentions coffee in the context of sweet treats. These include madeleines, lemon tartelettes, spelt apple cake, pastel de nata, butter and pecan cookies, a vegan Rose & Vanilla pastry, mango and yuzu cheesecake, and raspberry-strawberry cheesecake.

Specific coffee drinks are not publicly documented on the menu pages consulted. Furthermore, brewing methods such as espresso, filter coffee, pour-over, batch brew, AeroPress, Chemex, or V60 are not mentioned. Consequently, based on this information, it is impossible to determine the role that manual brew methods or specialty profiles play in the daily coffee menu.

Beyond its hospitality function, Grand Café Staatsman offers spaces for gatherings. De Koffiekamer is listed for meetings, lectures, presentations, receptions, private dining, and small-scale cultural activities. De Statenzaal is mentioned as a venue for lectures, presentations, weddings, and larger cultural events.

A concrete example of its community use was a residents' evening on 20 November 2024, focusing on draft sealing and ventilation in monumental buildings. The evening was linked to a collective purchasing initiative for monument-grade glass insulation, highlighting the location as a hub for local knowledge sharing.

The events page also mentions that De Horecamannen collaborate with other Zwolle hospitality partners for events. This suggests a networking function within the city, although the available information doesn't provide a full picture of the scale or frequency of these collaborations.

The menu states that dishes are made in-house using sustainable and local ingredients. It also notes that choices regarding waste separation, energy saving, and suppliers are carefully considered. Products are sourced as close to home as possible, preferably from Zwolle partners.

Additionally, the events page mentions an electric cargo bike for internal transport, and staff reportedly use bicycles. It further states that food and drinks are largely local and/or organic, and that waste is separated daily.

A few suppliers are explicitly named. Rose & Vanilla is linked to a vegan sweet product, and Harry is mentioned as the cheese supplier. As for a specific, publicly confirmed coffee supplier for Grand Café Staatsman, the available information does not provide conclusive evidence.

The opening of De Staatsman gained attention in trade media in August 2023, where the project was described as a combination of a grand café, hotel, and hostel in the former provincial building. Tourist information for Zwolle also lists Grand Café Staatsman at its location on the Diezerstraat.

In February 2024, it was reported that 19 Het Atelier Architecten, Grand Café Staatsman, Hotel Staatsman, Hostel het Archief, and the municipality of Zwolle received the Pluim from Vrienden van de Stadskern. This recognition pertained to the transformation of the former provincial house.

According to the same report, the transformation received 41 percent of the valid votes in the selection for the Pluim. It was also noted that the interior design by Ingrid van der Veen for the grand café was nominated for the Best Europe Restaurant design prize.

Based on the available information, Grand Café Staatsman appears primarily as a broad hospitality business with restaurant, café, and event functions. Coffee is part of the offering, mainly paired with pastries and sweet treats. For a detailed assessment of beans, brewing methods, or coffee profiles, public details are lacking in the provided material.