About coffeeshop Mississippi Maastricht
Stephanie, along with her father Stephan and her sister Seline, runs the coffee shops Mary Jane and Mississippi in Maastricht. Each of them has their own role.
The story of Mississippi dates back to 1988. Stephanie’s grandfather, Huub, was a barge skipper. He transported cargo along the Meuse River with his boat. One day, the boat’s engine broke down. Huub needed to buy a new engine but didn’t have the money. The bank refused to grant him a loan, leaving Huub at a loss.
The Mississippi boat is moored in Maastricht, between the city center and the train station. In the late 1980s, hashish was sold from some of the boats on the Meuse River. Huub also frequently gets asked by passersby if he has anything on offer. That gives him an idea: Huub starts selling hashish from his boat! Business is good, and in the following years, Huub and his brother-in-law Jean transform their boat with a broken engine into a floating coffee shop. From the 1990s onwards, the distinctive freighter in the Meuse River becomes an icon. Everyone in Maastricht and the surrounding area knows “the boat.” So, the Mississippi is a boat with a story or a coffee shop with a barge history, if you will. In 1996, Huub’s son Stephan takes over. He now shares the helm of the Mississippi with Jean and his daughters Stephanie and Seline..
Very Social:
Stephanie worked behind the bar at the Mississippi from the age of 18 until she was 21. After her pregnancy, she started working in the office. “But that wasn’t really my thing. I’m very social and can talk to people for hours. I like having people around me.” After her daughter Jane was born, she started working at Mary Jane, a new coffee shop project in Maastricht that she runs together with her sister, father, and former owner John. “We’re a real team,” explains Stephanie. “I run the bar at Mary Jane, which we named in 2017, partly because my daughter’s name is Jane. Essentially, I set up Mary Jane. Well, it’s always difficult to explain to others how we manage with the three of us. Seline is studying accounting and handles the office. My father takes care of everything on the Mississippi, and I manage Mary Jane. It works perfectly that way.”
Third Generation:
In the case of the Mississippi, where Stephanie occasionally still works behind the bar, you could say there is a third generation in one coffee shop. That’s probably not very common. It makes the story of coffee shop Mississippi very unique. Stephanie and her father have similar ways of thinking and speaking, Stephanie states. But upon further questioning, it becomes clear that her father is the one making plans in the daily practice, while Stephanie is more focused on executing the work and carrying out the plans. Thus, a clever plan conceived by her father for Mary Jane in 2017 was ultimately put into practice by Stephanie. A well-oiled family machine!
Atmosphere:
Stephanie also cares about the ambiance: “I think the atmosphere of a coffee shop is very important. A good atmosphere in the coffee shop determines whether people come to you or go to another shop,” says the Maastricht native. She always emphasizes to her staff the importance of creating a good atmosphere. “In a coffee shop, you have to be friendly and service-oriented towards your customers; that’s my philosophy. I’ve seen it go wrong in some coffee shops. In Maastricht, thousands of tourists used to automatically come to the coffee shops. It was always crowded until the introduction of the residency criterion in 2012, and the coffee shop staff simply didn’t have time to maintain personal connections with customers. When foreigners were no longer allowed in the shops, there was a shift. The long queues in the shops disappeared, and it was no longer a given that customers would go to a specific coffee shop. That called for a different culture.” Stephanie therefore emphasizes to her staff the importance of occasionally asking a customer how they are doing or asking a new face where they live.
Coffeeshop Mary Jane:
Stephanie knows how to create pleasant places in the coffee shops. “The interior of a shop is very important,” she explains. “That’s why we are currently renovating the Mississippi. My father is busy with that.” Stephanie introduced milkshakes, smoothies, and snacks in the Mississippi and Mary Jane. Along with a nice menu featuring 20 varieties, the coffee shops are very pleasant places to be. Both of them have become integral parts of her life. “The boat holds a very special place in my heart,” explains Stephanie. “That’s where it all started for me.”
Her Own Brainchild Mary Jane is different. From the beginning, she was able to put her stamp on that coffee shop; it truly feels like her own brainchild. She is glad to be a third-generation coffee shop entrepreneur and not from her grandfather’s generation. “Now it’s more accepted. Coffee shops have become normal, and you don’t have to be ashamed of having a coffee shop. It was different when I was a child: my friends’ parents wouldn’t allow them to visit when I was still in school because my father had a coffee shop. I’m glad that’s over now.”
