Anyone who has lived in the Netherlands has heard of the kapsalon. It’s not just the Dutch word for “hairdresser”, it’s also a delicious (often drunken) feast. Now, a new, tragic chapter to this delicacy’s lore has just unfolded.
We’ve all been there, you’re standing around with some friends, a warm tin container in your hands, about to lift a cheesy fry to your mouth when a Dutchie interjects —
“You know why they call it a kapsalon?”
The origin of the kapsalon
You listen to the story for the 15th time, watching your beloved Dutchie’s animated expression as they tell a tale as old as time.
It all started in 2003 with a Rotterdam hairdresser who loved his local shwarma shop, El Aviva. The hairdresser was a regular who asked for all his favourite foods to be combined into one dish.
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Eventually, El Aviva and the hairdresser started calling the weird medley of chips, shwarma, melted cheese and salad the “kapsalon” — and thus, a beloved Dutch delicacy was born.
A birthplace, up in flames
This morning, an era has come to an end, with Nu.nl reporting that El Aviva was burnt to the ground on Wednesday night.
We’re not just talking smoke damage here, reports claim that the kitchen has been left blackened and charred, and the house above the establishment is uninhabitable.
According to bystanders, the fire started in one of the kitchen’s extractor fans.
But we’re glad to hear that, reportedly, no one was harmed amid the tragedy.
It’s the end of an era, you’ll be missed El Aviva. ❤️
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