Overview
Café-Restaurant Stegers, on the corner of Markt and Peperstraat in Aalten, has a long history dating back to the eighteenth century. The building began as an inn and gin distillery, later became an off-licence and eventually developed into a well-known café-restaurant.
Stegers is not only a popular meeting place but also an important part of Aalten’s local heritage. The building is a national monument.
The Becking family
In 1717, Lemmert te Kavestede had a brewery with a front garden at this location. The inn run by Schaars is also known to have stood here. From around 1800 the occupants can be traced with greater certainty. At that time Lourens Becking, born in Varsseveld, lived in Aalten. According to an inscription on a façade stone, Lourens Becking and Willemina Geertruid Schaars converted the property in 1799 into a house, distillery and agricultural barn.
In 1804 Becking, a gin distiller by trade, had a new house built on Markt. High in the façade he placed a stone bearing a cryptic rebus, which can be interpreted as: “The sewing house of Tabitha”. Father Reinders, however, gave it another meaning: “Tabitha desires to be refreshed by the merits that Christ acquired on Calvary”.
Around 1828, his son Hendrik Jan took over the gin distillery. In 1864 he stopped distilling and continued as an off-licence proprietor, probably combining this with running a taproom. The building was altered and the Peperstraat section was let to baker Lourens Prins.
After Hendrik Jan died in 1889 without a male successor, his daughter Johanna Geertruida Klazina took over the off-licence. Her death in 1894 brought ninety years of Becking family distilling and retailing in Aalten to an end. The heirs sold the Peperstraat part of the property to merchant Salomon Goedhart, while the Markt building was let to carpenter H.B. Lelieveld.
Aunt Mina
In 1922 the property on Markt became the home of ‘Aunt’ Mina Heersink-Geerdes, born in Brinkheurne near Winterswijk. She opened a café here and later expanded it with a boarding house and restaurant. Her daughter Leis, who was married to Gert Prins, later helped her. Prins subsequently ran a tobacconist’s shop at the side of the building, and during the 1920s there was even a bicycle repair workshop in the back kitchen. Aunt Mina’s café was known for the large pot-bellied stove in the centre of the room. In 1952 the façade of the listed building was badly damaged when the centuries-old lime tree in front of the establishment was blown down during a severe storm.
The Stegers family
In the early 1960s, Riek and Jan Stegers of Groenlo were looking for a hospitality business. Riek already had experience in the trade. Jan was an insurance agent but also worked in hospitality in his spare time. The property on Markt in Aalten came up for sale and in April 1961 the Stegers family took the plunge. As they did not have the required licence for a tobacconist’s shop, they closed it and opened a snack bar in the former shop that October. Since 1990 Café-Restaurant Stegers has been run by Bertus and Jolanda Lammers together with Raymund and Sophia Stegers.
A new chapter
At the beginning of 2025 it was announced that Café-Restaurant Stegers and De Geste would be taken over by Zila and Kayra Ertunç of neighbouring Krul Bar & Restaurant. They said they would retain the original name and concept. With respect for the life’s work of the Stegers and Lammers families, they intend to preserve the atmosphere and tradition of this historic Aalten establishment.
Residents
Population register 1823-1850
Laurens Becking (Varsseveld, 28-04-1773), gin distiller
Willemina Gertruid Schaars (Aalten, 07-08-1773)
Volgende bewoners, zoon en echtgenote:
Hendrick Jan Becking (Aalten, 20-05-1804), gin distiller
Gesina Sophia Gussinklo (Aalten, 16-04-1806)
Population register 1850-1860
Hendrick Jan Becking (Aalten, 20-05-1804), gin distiller
Gesina Sophia Gussinklo (Aalten, 16-04-1806)
Population register 1860-1870
Hendrik Jan Becking (Aalten, 20-05-1804), gin distiller
Gesina Sophia Gussinklo (Aalten, 16-04-1806)
Population register 1870-1880
Hendrik Jan Becking (Aalten, 20-05-1804), off-licence proprietor
Gesina Sophia Gussinklo (Aalten, 16-04-1806)
Population register 1880-1890
Hendrik Jan Becking (Aalten, 20-05-1804), off-licence proprietor
Next resident, daughter:
Johanna Geertruida Klazina Becking (Aalten, 21-01-1837), off-licence proprietor
Population register 1890-1900
Johanna Geertruida Klazina Becking (Aalten, 21-01-1837), off-licence proprietor
Next residents:
Hendrikus Bernadus Lelivelt (Aalten, 18-02-1866), carpenter
Johanna Berendina Reijers (Gendringen, 13-12-1872)
Population register 1900-1910
Hendrikus Bernadus Lelivelt (Aalten, 18-02-1866), publican
Johanna Berendina Reijers (Gendringen, 13-12-1872)
Population register 1910-1920
Hendrikus Bernadus Lelivelt (Aalten, 18-02-1866), publican
Johanna Berendina Reijers (Gendringen, 13-12-1872)
Next resident:
Mina Aleida Heersink-Geerdes (Brinkheurne, 02-10-1878), café proprietor
Address directory 1934
Aalten D572 > Markt 2
Wed. J.W.A. Heersink
Address directory 1967
Markt 2
J.F.J. Stegers
Hotel Stegers
Owners
This overview is incomplete.
| Year | Plot | Owner | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | I-1153 | Lourens Becking | 580 m² house, barn & yard |
| 1844 | I-1153 | Hendrik Jan Becking, jeneverbrander | 580 m² house, yard, gin distillery |
| 1895 | I-4652 | Hendrik Jan Becking, jeneverbrander | 390 m² house & yard |
| 1909 | I-4652 | Hendrikus Bernadus Lelivelt, contractor | 390 m² house & yard |
| 1922 | I-4652 | Mina Aleida Geerdes, farmer & shopkeeper | 390 m² house & yard |
| 1937 | I-6928 | Mina Aleida Geerdes, farmer & shopkeeper | 387 m² house & yard |