Saarein A queer bar saved by its community
Foundation
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Amsterdam’s feminist and queer café, since 1978.
The place
Stichting Saarein
Café Saarein is a brown café on the corner of Elandsstraat and Hazenstraat, in Amsterdam’s Jordaan. Since 1978 it has been a meeting place for women and queer people — cultural heritage held in the building itself. That year a collective of women, through an earlier crowdfunding, took the café over from Saar and Rein. The name stayed.
After 25 years, the previous owner was looking to retire. Talisa Harjono and Sterre Krot, together with Sebastian Kersten and over 30 volunteers from the queer community, set out to keep the café from a commercial sale. They founded Stichting Saarein in 2024, for which Sebastian serves as treasurer. The café now belongs to the foundation, run for and by the community. Proceeds support initiatives that improve the position of women and LGBTQIAP+ people.
Crowdfunding
Save de Saarein
The campaign asked for €250,000: enough to buy the café into the foundation, and a smaller share for practical improvements guests would actually feel. Around it sat an auction, a bingo, dinners in the café, and a benefit night at Paradiso.
About 40 volunteers and about 3,000 supporters raised over €275,000. In the summer of 2024 the keys passed to the foundation. Saarein stayed a public room, not a private asset.
Press
In the media
