The family that founded a Bendigo food institution is about to cook its last pizza.
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The van Haandels are bidding Pall Mall business Clogs farewell and want to share 50 years of memories with generations of loyal customers.
"We'd like to thank the community, our suppliers, our staff old and new," current director Michael van Haandel said.
"We'd love people to come in and say goodbye."
Dutch brothers rethink food scene
Michael paid tribute to those who had been instrumental in making Clogs into such a successful business.
That included his brothers Marty and Wayne, along with uncles John and Frank and their wives.
Michael's dad Martin and Dianne moved to Bendigo and helped start the business then known as the Pizza Castle.
"It was very busy in those days. Most nights after the pubs had shut at 10pm you would find people coming down, ordering a pizza and sitting on their car bonnets out the front," Michael said.
"It was the place to be until about 5am in the morning."
The venue got its current name during an award-winning 1984 architectural rethink, which coincided with when it moved into a la carte dining.
"They were Dutch brothers and people in Bendigo called them the 'Clogs Boys'," Michael said.
"It shaped the hospitality dynamic in Bendigo in that era."
Clogs uses the original dough recipe and celebrates longtime favorites like its satay chicken pizza, Marty's special and Clogs special.
Michael started folding pizza boxes for the business aged six, prepping food at 12 and making pizzas at 14, before building a career in the hospitality industry.
He has run Clogs for the past decade but said the spotlight should be on others, especially his father.
Family pulls together after death
Martin was a giant of Bendigo's hospitality scene and his death in a car crash in 1995 sent shockwaves through the wider community.
"A lot of people were grieving, not just our family," Michael said.
Martin's wife Dianne and 19-year-old son Marty took over the business.
"They did an amazing, incredible job after Dad's passing," Michael said.
He was about 14-years-old at the time and remains in awe of what Dianne and Marty achieved.
"My brother Wayne was about 16 and he was such a great support to Mum and Marty at that time, too," Michael said.
The van Haandels are yet to reveal who they had sold Clogs to.
They had fielded a few offers and hand-selected the people they thought best-placed to continue Clogs' legacy.
He said the new owners respected the restaurant's history.
Michael is yet to decide on his next big challenge.
"Hospitality is in my blood, first and foremost, but at this stage it's time for a break," he said.
Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
