How it all started.

The Bulldog is actually the very first coffeeshop and until today, the only one with its original founders and owner. That means, the term ‘coffeeshop’ as we know it today for Amsterdam, was coined by Henk. But why did he use the term coffeeshop, while ‘coffee’ is not what most visitors come for? Henk de Vries answers this question for us:

“I wanted to make the connection with a teahouse, in my opinion that was like a living room for neighbourhood residents. Some things which were done in other places was not allowed, like selling beer under the counter and hiding a slot machine behind the curtain. I wanted to capture the teahouse feeling, keep the atmosphere of a living room. At the same time I wanted to have an international character to the place, that’s how the term ‘coffeeshop’ was born.”

He decided to name his ‘coffeeshop’ after the breed of his beloved four legged friend Joris, an English Bulldog. A loyal, friendly and stubborn animal, one to fight ‘till the end.