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7 June 2025
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Birthplace of the “Kapsalon” goes up in flames

July 4, 2024
The classic kapsalon. Photo: MartinD via Wikimedia Commons

Fire severely damaged restaurant El Aviva in Rotterdam, the birthplace of the internationally renowned “Kapsalon” snack.

Firefighters were called to the scene late on Wednesday, local broadcaster Rijnmond reported. Twenty people had to leave their homes temporarily but no one was hurt in the incident.

Witnesses said the fire started in the kitchen when it a cleaner tried to remove the fat from the ventilation system with a blower. The kitchen has been completely gutted, the broadcaster said.

Last year, El Aviva celebrated the twentieth birthday of its most celebrated snack, which fans will now have to do without for some time.

The Kapsalon, a combination of fries, doner kebab, tomato, cucumber, garlic sauce, sambal and melted cheese, came into being when hairdresser Nataniël Gomes ordered his own version of a doner kebab sandwich in 2003 . El Aviva owner Dervis Bengü was happy to oblige and the Kapsalon had arrived.

The snack, whose 1800 calories could at a pinch provide the average adult with enough energy for the day, quickly became popular, including in Germany and Belgium, and even reached such distant but Netherlands-related shores as Indonesia and Suriname.

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Fire Rotterdam
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