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A sari-sari store opens in Amsterdam
Joanna Laxamana, or “Jayjay” as her friends call her, was five years old when she started helping out her Lola Connie in their own sari-sari store in Pansol, Calamba, Laguna. She would take over helping sell to their neighbors during her lola’s siesta time.
Today, at 32 years old, she could hardly believe that she owns her own sari-sari store in Europe, in the center of Amsterdam, no less. Sari-sari store means variety or convenience store in Filipino.
Jayjay and her husband, Ivan Appel, started an online store in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. They started with selling Filipino products such as chips, pastries, and other frozen goods like tocino, longganisa and smoked milkfish.
“We did not expect the level of support we got from Filipinos in the Netherlands. The lockdowns during the pandemic encouraged people to do more online shopping and we had a lot of customers,” Jayjay explains.
The business continued to thrive that the couple decided to set up a physical store and expand their offers.
Today, Jayjay and Ivan are in contact with different suppliers for various Filipino products, which now include novelty items such as Philippine toys, bilao (rice winnower), walis tingting (broom), walis tambo (soft reed broom), and even the trusty old tabo (dipper).
Jayjay, who was a former retail supervisor in Amsterdam, is now a full-time proud tindera and owner of her own sari-sari store. Most of their clients are typically Filipinos, however, many onlookers and foreigners who wander into their store are also happily introduced to Filipino food and culture.
“We have repeat Dutch customers who like buying our frozen goods like tocino or longganisa. I am happy to introduce the Filipino culture to those who are not familiar with it,” Ivan says.
“I have many Filipino friends who introduced me to the Filipino cuisine. I particularly enjoy adobo,” a Dutch customer says as he buys some bottles of Filipino beer and mixed nuts.
A Filipino community
The Amsterdam Sari-sari store has not only become a go-to store for many Filipinos craving a taste of home. It's also become an informal tambayan for Filipinos looking to unwind or have a short chitchat after a long day’s work.
A sofa and a small table stand at the end of the product aisle, where Filipinos can hang. Sometimes, the small table is filled with freshly-made lutong ulam or rice pastries, which are consignments from different Filipino bakers and cooks in Amsterdam.
“Sobrang mabenta ‘yung mga kakanin katulad ng puto, nilupak, sapin-sapin," Jayjay said. "During the pandemic, a lot our kababayans had a hard time finding work, and this is my own way of helping them. At the same time, they are also helping our business, so it’s a win-win situation.”
Challenges in running a business
As the Amsterdam Sari-sari store relies on supplies imported from the Philippines and other Asian neighbouring countries, the currently volatile freight situation and high oil prices are proving to be a challenge for the owners.
“Many of these imported goods increased in prices due to the high oil prices in shipping which was worsened by the Ukraine-Russia war,” Jayjay explains.
Apart from this, she also finds the weather in the Netherlands an important factor in their business. As the country is known for its rainy weather, many of her customers are usually discouraged to come to the store during bad weather conditions.
“Setting up a business is always a gamble. You will never know how much your income will be at the end of the month. But to see how much our business thrived over the past year was very encouraging and fulfilling,” Jayjay says.
It took a great deal of hard work, confidence, and networking for Jayjay and Ivan to succeed in setting up their small store. But to the Dutch-Filipino couple, it was a dream that they want to keep pursuing.
As the door opens, signaling another customer coming into the store, Jayjay looks up, smiles, and says “Lola would be proud.” — LA, GMA News
