Room Groningen (Vismarkt)

Room Groningen (Vismarkt) is located at Vismarkt 3 in the center of Groningen. In public mentions, the location is referred to as “Groningen – Vismarkt”. According to reports about the company, it is a family business run by the Brandsma family. Simon Brandsma, Marielouise Brandsma, and Merel Brandsma are mentioned as being involved in daily operations and production.

Public profiles and media reports place the start of Room in 2021, with April 15, 2021, cited as the opening date of the Vismarkt location. The family’s history refers to previous activities on Bonaire, followed by ventures in Groningen, including Toscana and Pure. According to available information, Pure was active from 2012 to 2022.

The concept behind Room blends gelato, matcha, specialty coffee, and homemade sweets. On their own website, the company describes how they craft gelato throughout the day, serve selected coffees, and bake their cookies entirely in-house. Local reports summarize this as a formula centered around gelato and coffee. Within that framework, the Vismarkt location appears to function as a hybrid between a coffee bar and a gelato shop.

Publicly documented information regarding their coffee program reveals an evolution over time. Older public mentions from 2024 and 2025 name Kolibri Coffee Roasters from Tynaarlo as their coffee partner. However, the current official coffee page states that Room works exclusively with La Cabra. This shift is noteworthy, as it indicates that the coffee offering has not remained entirely constant.

According to current information, the program consists of a house espresso and a second, seasonal espresso. Additionally, filter coffee is publicly listed on the coffee page for the Rodeweg location. For Vismarkt and Zuidlaren, a related page mentions that a single, carefully selected espresso is served. Based on the consulted sources, no other brewing methods beyond espresso and filter coffee have been clearly established.

Alongside coffee, milk- and matcha-based drinks appear in public descriptions. The homepage mentions a matcha latte. Social media snippets and local press also feature affogato, cloudberry matcha, Roseberry latte, matcha affogato, and a hazelnut latte with pistachio foam. These drinks point to a menu that frequently bridges the gap between coffee and gelato, although a fully fixed menu cannot be derived from the sources.

A recurring theme in Room’s public profiling is in-house production. The official site mentions that the gelato is made throughout the day. The gelato page also notes that this production takes place in full view of visitors, rather than in a laboratory or factory. This detail speaks primarily to the visibility of the production process and how the business organizes itself.

Regarding coffee, the current official page indicates that the choice of La Cabra followed a visit to Kopenhagen. According to the text, the partnership had to align with the coffee style Room was seeking, with quality and consistency cited as primary motives. Earlier public sources, however, name Kolibri Coffee Roasters as the partner. In that older context, a desire to visit coffee farmers within the supply chain is also mentioned.

A broader, formally detailed sustainability approach is not clearly established in the consulted public sources. No detailed public policy was found regarding certification, sourcing criteria, or a separate sustainability strategy for the Vismarkt location. Consequently, the picture remains limited to what appears on their own site and in media reports regarding production and supplier relationships.

Room Groningen is publicly registered as a certified training company. This indicates participation in internships or other forms of professional vocational training. Within the available information, this is one of the few concrete indications of a structural role beyond the regular sale of refreshments. No clear public data was found in the consulted sources regarding workshops, tastings, exhibitions, or a recurring events program for the Vismarkt location.

A temporary collaboration with Restaurant Noor has been publicly documented. This partnership involved a limited edition “star gelato”, available in Groningen and Zuidlaren from August 25 through August 31, 2025. This serves as a concrete example of Room partnering with another player in the Dutch hospitality sector, though the sources do not indicate that this is part of an ongoing collaboration program.

In recent years, Room has garnered attention several times in regional and national media. Sikkom published pieces both on the opening of a second location in Groningen in 2023 and on the family behind the business in 2025. De Telegraaf also quoted Marielouise Brandsma in 2023 in a report about preparing for the summer rush.

Additionally, Room Vismarkt was included in a gelato test by HanzeMag in 2022. In that review, the shop received an average score of 8.1, with a reported price of 1.40 euros per scoop. Furthermore, public mentions refer to previous coverage by, among others, de Volkskrant, Trouw, and Sikkom. An Instagram snippet also mentions an appearance in Trouw De Verdieping in April 2026. Together, these mentions portray a business with a visible presence in Groningen, both as a coffee and gelato shop and within broader media coverage.