Elandsgracht Amsterdam

Antique center Amsterdam, formerly known as ‘the Looier’ in an old garage. The space is enormous though it is packed to the rafters with antiques,  knickknacks, collectible items and rarities. Display cabinets guide you through a maze stalls and more displays, each owned by another dealer, collector or enthusiast. The center underwent a transformation “to dust it off and bring it into the 21^st century”, as the owner put it. Arnout and his wife Emrys ter Haak took over the business and decided to  overhaul the place, but keep it accessible to tourists, students and serious art lovers and collectors alike. Whether you come in looking to spend 5000 Euro or 5, there’s something here for everyone. The vast collection of items ranges from the bizarre to the funny and from the delicate to the breathtakingly beautiful. It is absolutely fascinating walking through this place and will make you wonder why you didn’t comer here sooner – or more often.

The Elandsgracht was proud and very happy to welcome this pharmacy/ health food store on 15 September 2012. Its name is as intriguing as unusual for a business that specializes in, and differentiates itself with, supplements and so-called superfoods.  But considering the passion that owner Miranda has for her business, as well as her predilection for Motown music, the logic behind the name is quickly established. What’s more, it was her best friend, her soulsister, who convinced Miranda to finally start her own shop. Twenty-three years of experience in her field do not stop this entrepreneur from furthering her knowledge. Not only is she a licensed pharmacist and beauty/health consultant, before long she will also be a licensed ortho-molecular therapist. Three areas of expertise that not only fascinate her, but will greatly help her give sound advice to her customers. She will  just as easily discuss the benefits of a particular toothpaste as she will wax lyrical about sea-weed based products and various so-called superfoods. Rather than explaining these items here, we strongly encourage you to pay this charming shop a visit. Healthy eating is booming business, thanks to growing consumer awareness. All the more reason to obtain solid and easy to understand advice. Get it here, get it now!

This store that takes its name from the French word for sneakers, opened in April 2012. It focuses on sneakers. Not just trainers, the ones we wear on weekends or holidays preferably until they disintegrate with wear. We’re talking about proper sneakers, from high end brands, and acceptable footwear in most of Amsterdam’s hotspots and on the occasional catwalk. Aside from the familiar brands, this new specialised shoe store also carries the lesser known, more exclusive brands. As a nice extra touch, it also has room for some of the local brands such as Locals AMS. The store interior is exciting in a toned down way, clean and beautiful but not exaggerated or pretentious. Baskèts is owned by Jeffrey Sluijzer and Daan de Greef.

Unlike some of the tanning salon’s most avid visitors, this place is rather inconspicuous and that works just fine for owner Coby. For a solid 25 years, this tanning place, has built its reputation, slowly expanding its services over the years, becoming more and more of a full blown beauty salon. The salon moved to a great new place on nr. 101, where it uses every square centimeter for its impressive array of sunbeds, wood panelled cabins and reclining massage chairs. The place offers handy frequent visitor cards at special rates. Not that it really needs to lure customers in. Once you’ve been once, odds are considerable that you will be back for more.

Linger real estate is a quiet presence on the Elandsgracht. Its modest store window and shopfront belie the ambitions and aspirations of its owners and employees. Now that Linger have a second office in the southeastern part of the city and five full time employees, they cover the whole of Amsterdam. Whereas other realtors have only recently – forced by dire economic circumstances – started paying closer attention to the needs and wants of their clients and offer more personalised service, Linger have embraced these elementary business principles since it first opened its doors. Linger have managed to spot opportunities in less fortunate times. It is precisely because of this combination of  business savvy and optimism that Linger continues to welcome more and more clients, mostly via word of mouth among expats and people with limited spending power.

The Elandsgracht has been the proud host to the fifth and smallest establishment of the Vlaamsch Broodhuys since 2007, when the bigwigs of the company decided on this location because, well, it’s the Elandsgracht and its central location is very hard to beat. This shop may be small, but its attractive warm interior fits the size perfectly. It is all geared towzards a cosy place for coffee, brunch and lunch.  Its excellent sandwhiches and sweet, sweet pastries, made to order right in front of you,  will make any discerning customer’s mouth water. The bread is made from a company own recipe, top secret of course, and delivered to each of the Broodhuys’s shops around dawn every morning. Refreshingly it does not have wifi, so turn all your gadgets off and take your time when you step in here. One further interesting detail is that cash is not accepted here – you can only pay with debit cards.

You know the kind of store where you wander past, you, stop, walk back feeling unexplicably intrigued and just go in to explore? Right, well, new addition Gr8cht is exactly this kind of shop and that alone makes it a wonderful addition to the Elandsgracht. It opened for business in April 2012, when entrepreneur Jos decided on the location here. The things on display make you happy just by looking at them, so presumably even happier by buying them. Which is precisely how Jos, owner of the place, decides her inventory: she bases her decision on what to sell on what she likes. And it does not take an expensive marketing guru to state that it’s a lot easier -and more fun- to sell things that you are excited about. The products she sells range from clothing, scented candles and soap to sturdy yet elegant dining tables and delicate interior decorations. Another lovely thing about this shop – you can spend a little or a lot, depending on your taste and budget.

This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shop has a rather contrasting reputation. The specialist bar none in decorative elements ranging from borders and trimmings,  through to ropes and laces has become a bit of a legend since it opened for business in 1938. Among its regulars, van de Kerkhof proudly counts the National Ballet Palace het Loo and the Dutch Opera Foundation. How’s that for some casual name dropping? The grandfather of current owner Manuelle originally established the business on the Wolvenstraat, on the other side of the bridge across the Prinsengracht.  The shop only moved to the Elandsgracht in 2010 and was in time handed down to the son, who in time handed the shop down to Manuella, who continues expanding the shop’s service and reputation. Step inside this place and you do actually feel as if you stepped into a different dimension. Such warmth and lovely colours meet your senses here that you walk around in amazement for a while.

Nr 118 used to be a car dealer slash gas stop. One of those nice old-fashioned ones, typically seen in small villages, with one or two rusty gas pumps out front. Just like the space the new Antique Center across the street is now based in, this place is amazingly big too. This kind of space really is only suitable for one other purpose: a supermarket. So, that’s what Ekoplaza, the supermarket that exclusively sells organic food, turned it into. The beauty of Ekoplaza is that it did not try to cram as much products in there as possible. Instead, wide aisles make for convenient and easy navigating your way around. And still their range of products is virtually endless. From liquorish to soap, you name it, Ekoplaza carries it. Storemanager Ronald has run this supermarket since 2013. Ekoplaza is on the move with over 50 Ekoplaza’s across the country, proving that buying organic is not just another fad – it’s another lifestyle.