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20 years of the Dutch Touch at Café the Plaza in 2011 Café the Plaza in downtown Oranjestad has something big to celebrate next year. Then it will be twenty years ago that entrepreneurs Hans Nooter and Harry Koeman took over the restaurant at Harbourtown, as the Renaissance Marketplace was then called. Their touch proved to be golden: as soon as the place changed ownership, patrons appeared as if by magic. The secret of the Dutch Touch of these two is simple: really good value for your money, an attractive menu and great meals in a relaxed and very welcoming atmosphere, every day of the week, from breakfast until late at night. After so many years, it is still the recipe for success. But Café the Plaza is best-known for its outrageous and fun happenings. To mention a few, there was the weird Elfstedentocht, an annual ice skating happening in Holland. But on Aruba it was a team effort in barhopping throughout our capital Oranjestad. Teams had to wear snorkels and flippers and Aruba had never witnessed anything like it. The event was even written up in Dutch newspapers and it got international television coverage as well. The year always starts off well with a cocktail party for patrons of Café the Plaza. After that there are the annual Polesitting championships among the calendar’s highlights, as well as the Plaza Golf Championships and the first Herring. The European and World Cup soccer matches of the Dutch national team, shown on thirteen screens and cheered on by hundreds of Dutchies, consistently create an orange-colored, jolly chaos. Café the Plaza’s staffers are sportsmen and -ladies of the highest order, joining in the Horeca Soccer Fest with a vengeance. They get a good work-out during their shifts, running around while carrying lots of plates. Café the Plaza’s latest craze is the Quiz Night series. Every Tuesday evening, teams of intelligent and savvy gals and guys fight for glory. There are series of 8 evenings, always filled to the brim with avid players. A tearjerker evening now and then takes care of balancing the emotions so that things do not get too serious. For more information about upcoming celebrations or happenings, please surf to the Aruba Wine and Dine website www.arubawineanddine.com
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