't Hart van Breda

I would like to tell you about the bar my best friend and I used to go to in order to have a drink before we would go dancing. Unfortunately I have to say ‘used to go’, since the pub burned down on 27 April 2009. When I first heard that ‘t Hart had burned down, I could hardly believe it. I was in Maastricht at the time, and there were more people from Breda present in the pub we were at. We actually gathered and started talking about ‘t Hart.

‘t Hart van Breda is a place where many of my free hours were spent. The pub wasn’t even a very special place at first glance. It had couches, tables, chairs and a bar, like the average pub on the corner. But that was exactly the strength of the place. Everyone, both the elderly and the youth, felt at home there. People came there to have a lunch break from their shopping spree, to get a cup of coffee after work or to have a drink and a talk in the evening. They had a small menu and you could have both simple meals and finger food. There were cocktails, all sorts of coffee and the staff was always friendly.

Luckily, immediately after the fire it was decided that ‘t Hart would be rebuild, so that the people of Breda could have their coffee, their lunch of their cocktails at the same place where they used to. I am personally very glad that they are rebuilding the place, since even now, months after the fire, my best friend and I talk about wanting a cappuccino or a cocktail from ‘t Hart van Breda. A place which is literally in our hearts.