From Milkman, to Supermarket, to Sushi Takeaway

Here you can see the building that has been housing food shops for almost a century. The shop has had many different owners and functions in the meantime, but the building still stands. The Kerkvliet milk shop used to be here and the Gulcan bakery had set up shop there as well. Now it houses a sushi takeaway franchise, Hajay Sushi. While undoubtedly very delicious, it is no longer a place where neighbors come together to catch up. The sushi place is predominantly a base for delivery personnel – both local and from far away. While the people inside roll the sushi, the scooters come and go…

Lia Kerkvliet was born here. She started helping her parents, who owned the milk shop back then, from a young age. She brought groceries to students and helped attend the shop when her father was ill. Her brother already secretly delivered the milk by car at sixteen years old. Lia thinks the police turned a blind eye because her father was ill at that time. Eventually, Lia and her husband took over the business in 1967. During that time, the shop gradually turned into a grocery shop. Lia and her husband look back on this period as lively and pleasant, both on the street and in the neighborhood. When asked whether there are things that are are better now than before, she says:

“I think I have to really think to be able to answer that. What is better now than it used to be? I really wouldn’t know. Maybe that’s different for young people. But at our age, I really wouldn’t know.”

In the image in fig. 1, you can see Lia in her shop during what must have been late ‘70s. The photo is from a special album that Lia showed us. It contains photo’s and cut-outs from December 1980, when the Morsweg briefly reached national news. Curious as to why? Then dive with us into her album.