Discover the feeling
A household name in The Hague and far beyond for 45 years… and still going strong! Avonturia De Vogelkelder† When founder Jan Huybers passed away completely unexpectedly at the end of 2016, his sons Jimmy and Donald did not hesitate for a moment. In any case, their father's vision would be continued: Discover, experience and admire.
The largest pet store
The largest pet store in the Netherlands not only sells dog food and sawdust, you will even find a small zoo with meerkats and monkeys. You can celebrate your party there, eat well in brasserie de Oehoe and soon there will even be one penguin academy where children can receive lessons and companies can give presentations. It's yet to be built Jan Huybersplein becomes the radiant center of the new part. An old village square where the gables and old clinker bricks give a beautiful atmosphere.
“This will be the ultimate tribute to my father,” says Jimmy Huybers. “It's a shame he won't see the end result anymore, but we're really making something beautiful!”
Versatile
The company is a (online) shop, veterinary clinic and mini zoo in one. What started forty years ago as a bird hobby that got out of hand, as the name suggests, in father Jan's basement is now a mega company. “When my father bought a 360 m2 building on Copernicusstraat, everyone thought he was crazy. That could never go well. But together with Hagenaar Kees van Dashorst (known for designing Kabouterland and many special zoos) his vision became reality. There was a big tree, a bridge with a pond and habitats for exotic animals.” continues Jimmy. “But after 5 years we outgrew our capacity there too. The new 1000 m2 building on the Oude Haagweg was given even more show elements and it became a 'Nature Discovery Centre'. And even that turned out not to be big enough after a few years. When Jan bought the current building of more than 8000 m2, even his sons became a bit nervous. Wasn't this getting a little out of hand?
'EVERYONE WORKS HERE WITH HEART AND SOUL, A MAGICAL FEELING!'
“But my father had it all figured out with Kees. Avonturia was already in the making! We have integrated online sales into the business and are now known worldwide for our specialized range of reptiles, rodents and parrots. We import a lot ourselves to stimulate the natural behavior and environment of the animal as much as possible. Then they are happiest. When I walk around like this, I'm so proud of everything we've accomplished. With our family, which I include all our fantastic employees, a top performance is delivered every day. Everyone works here with heart and soul, a magical feeling! That is ultimately the most important thing, that warm feeling. For the people who work here and who come here. And". always keep dreaming. We are far from finished” Jimmy concludes. “We have my father's genes, hey, big, bigger, biggest. We are proud of that!”
Read here the article from Indebuurt.nl
