In the late eighties the first plans started to take shape: a place in Hengelo where people could feel at home, and where quality cannabis would be on offer. As those plans firmed up, the search for a location began. That turned out not to be easy…
Eventually we found a city-owned building right in the centre of Hengelo. We filed an application to rent it — and waited. Three months went by without a reply. We had the feeling the municipality couldn’t say yes: our plans, which we’d outlined transparently in a letter, would then have to be given the green light. So we helped the council along: we squatted!
Sadly that was a particularly short adventure. After three days we were back on the street… ;-(
We decided to take a less open tack. From then on we’d present ourselves as a board-game club, not a coffeeshop. Soon a tiny premises came free — right opposite what was then the town hall, now the city office — a place where, as teenagers, we had once smoked our first joints out front. Back when, all things considered, it was still genuinely illegal. This corner of Hengelo had been our patch for years anyway, long before a coffeeshop could exist here at all.
The rokade
A name came easily. Rokade — a chess term that fit our move, and besides, we were going to set ourselves up literally onder de rook van de stadhuistoren (Dutch idiom: “under the smoke of the town-hall tower” — meaning “very close to”).
For anyone who doesn’t know the move: the rokade (English: castling) is one move in which two pieces move at once.
- The king slides two squares sideways.
- The rook ends up on the square the king jumped over.
A defensive move — but a statement too: I’m better placed now.
Day One
1990. From the first day Rokade was a success, and within a couple of years we’d outgrown our coat. In May 1992 a new building turned up: the local Chicken King on the Deldenerstraat was struggling, and the owner was happy to be rid of his place. That’s where we’ve been ever since.
Today
More than 35 years on, Rokade has grown into a serious operation. One of Hengelo’s oldest coffeeshops, with a clientele who travel from near and far for what we offer.
We train our staff on product knowledge and adjacent matters — not to show off, but because our name is Coffeeshop deLuxe and we’d like to live up to it. Whoever stands behind the bar here can answer any question with patience and substance.
These days we also test our products ourselves. With our own NeoSpectra scanner by Si-Ware Systems — a near-infrared (NIR) analyzer — we measure potency, strength and cannabinoid profile within minutes — for both weed and hash — with a detailed report to go with it. It’s not a legal requirement; we simply want to know — and to be able to tell you — what’s in it.
Same address, same name, same people.