--- title: "In the neighbourhood: wine and cheese bar Juni" date: 2026-05-11T16:40:00+02:00 author: Nina Swaep canonical_url: "https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/in-the-neighbourhood-wine-and-cheese-bar-juni/" section: Articles --- ![In the neighbourhood: wine and cheese bar Juni](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1800x880_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9309_HIG_420.jpg) [ Interviews ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/interviews/)# In the neighbourhood: wine and cheese bar Juni **Whatever the season, it always feels a little like a balmy summer evening at wine and cheese bar Juni. These may be challenging times for the hospitality industry, but the entrepreneurial journey of Puck Kalkman (26) and Nienke van der Neut (28) has been remarkably smooth so far. Just one year after opening, their space has already more than doubled in size after they were recently given the opportunity to rent the adjoining premises. Luck? Perhaps! But probably not entirely, because Puck and Nienke never leave anything to chance. In the interview below, they tell us all about their approach to entrepreneurship.** ### **From colleagues to business partners** One look at their [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/junirotterdam/) tells you everything you need to know: Juni is your new favourite *after-work* destination. It’s certainly ours: cheese, wine and a flawless atmosphere. *What’s not to like?* That’s why we sit down with Puck and Nienke, who speak to us enthusiastically as a duo while covered from head to toe in renovation dust. Puck beams: “A duo—that’s exactly what we are! We’ve already built an entire career together: first mainly as colleagues, then as friends and now as business partners running our own establishment. We both had so much passion and love for the hospitality industry that, fairly early in our friendship, we dared to express our desire to open a beautiful place together one day. That was around four years ago, when it was still a distant dream. But it was also a goal on the horizon—something we could work towards. When this location suddenly appeared on our radar, we had to adjust quickly, but our immediate thought was: if this isn’t it, then what is? So we went for it!” ### **Why wine and cheese?** Puck continues: “The idea was always to open a wine bar; the cheese came later. We both have a restaurant background and wanted to do something with food while keeping things simple. And voilà: cheese was the answer—not least because we personally think it makes such a wonderful *pairing* with wine.” Nienke: “Cheese is a fantastic product in its own right, and in some ways, it’s very similar to wine. There’s a great deal of overlapping knowledge, such as the concept of *terroir*. There is so much to learn about it, and we’re constantly doing just that, but ultimately, you experience it best by tasting it yourself. That’s also what we tell our guests: we can talk about it endlessly, but just taste it!” she laughs. Puck: “Once we knew it would be a wine and cheese bar, it was time to choose a name. What cautiously began as ‘Project Juni’ is now displayed prominently on the façade,” she chuckles. “And it fits: June is our favourite month of the year. That’s mainly because of its balmy, beginning-of-summer atmosphere, which we would ideally like to preserve throughout the year. We also simply think Juni is a lovely word—very optimistic and cheerful.” ### **No reservations, but always welcome** Nienke: “Then we opened, and from the very first day, it was one big celebration! I think we genuinely tapped into something that Rotterdam didn’t have yet because we were completely full every day right from the start.” Puck: “Which is funny when you consider that we don’t take reservations. Ever. For anyone. We don’t even make exceptions for our own family and friends. We like to preserve some room for spontaneity. While other places may be fully booked weeks in advance, you can always try your luck with us. To us, that’s another form of hospitality—and hospitality is something we value enormously.” Nienke agrees: “Exactly, and that’s why we’re *always* here ourselves. For now, both of us are here, and later, when our team has grown, at least one of us will be present. That will also allow the other person to get away for a few days and find fresh creativity and inspiration. We’re still young, so we can invest all our love, time and attention in the business. We’re currently putting in all the work needed to take Juni to the highest possible level.” ### **Expanding into the neighbouring premises** Puck continues: “The only issue we’re encountering now is that, because of the limited space, it’s unfortunate to have to turn people away so often. The potential is enormous, but we can’t really progress any further here. That’s why we’re so pleased to have been given the opportunity to expand.” Nienke adds: “Yes, the neighbouring property becoming available was a genuine surprise and also a bit of a now-or-never situation. Still, we’re moving forward with complete confidence because we calculated absolutely everything in advance—and I really do mean everything. No surprises, no coincidences and no guesswork; we know all our margins. As you can tell, we aren’t exactly *go-with-the-flow* types,” she laughs. “We like being in control! That also reflects our view of the hospitality industry: we don’t regard this as a fun little job. To us, it’s a profession that we want to approach as professionally as possible.” Puck: “The original wine and cheese bar concept will therefore move into the adjoining premises, which offer more seating and a larger kitchen. This will allow us to welcome more guests and prepare slightly more sophisticated dishes. We’ll transform the original space into a shop and tasting room. There was a lot of demand for that, but until now, we never had the time or space.” Nienke: “Although our menu always varies according to the season and vintages, I feel we’ve now achieved a wonderful balance. It’s primarily based on our personal tastes and style. We’ve tasted everything, and we think the selection is absolutely delicious!” she laughs. “Anyway, that forms our foundation, and within it, we aim to source as much as possible organically and locally—both the cheese and the wine.” Puck adds: “Looking even closer, we try to represent as many female winemakers as possible. It isn’t a requirement, and we don’t shout about it, but we believe it’s wonderful to make a conscious choice in favour of *empowerment*. We serve everything from sparkling wine to dessert wine and everything in between. The great thing about having been open for a year is that our shelves are now completely stocked, and we’re becoming increasingly skilled at recognising and responding to our guests’ tastes.” “Or trying to influence them,” Nienke says conspiratorially. ### **The perfect combination** “Puck and I share the *unpopular opinion* that white wine generally pairs better with cheese than red wine. We often find that tannins get in the way of creating a truly excellent match. If you ask us for our dream combination, we’d choose a slightly more mature Ossenkop—a Dutch Camembert—with apple syrup and a Riesling from Weingut Seckinger. The flavours that creates are simply unbelievable!” From chilled Serbian red wine to mead from Daan’s Honing, whatever is swirling around in your glass, you’re always in good hands at Juni. From May until the end of summer, the evening sun falls across the terrace, and there are regular special events, beginning with *Fête de la Mer* on 7 June. “We’ll be serving oysters while a sea shanty choir performs,” Nienke says. “And once you’ve finished raising a toast with us, from this summer onwards, you can head straight to our new neighbours at Bar Klink and dance until the early hours. Our little corner of the city just keeps getting better!” Juni | Oostzeedijk 340A Thu–Sat, 16:00–23:00 Sun, 14:00–23:00 [www.junirotterdam.nl](http://www.junirotterdam.nl) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9309_HIG_249.jpg) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9309_HIG_323.jpg) ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_1120x630_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9309_HIG_383.jpg) [ ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_910x600_crop_center-center_90_none/5-Piet_Hein_Eek_1%C2%A9Nick-Bookelaar.jpg) #### Interviews ### Reintroducing Piet Hein Eek ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/reintroducing-piet-hein-eek/) [ ![](https://cdn.hetindustriegebouw.nl/images/articles/_910x600_crop_center-center_90_none/2026%E2%80%9304%E2%80%9309_HIG_810.jpg) #### Interviews ### In conversation with Hans Roest and Tim Baan ](https://hetindustriegebouw.nl/en/community/news/in-conversation-with-hans-roest-and-tim-baan/)