By Lou Boot and Weronika Szymańska
The melodic grinding of coffee beans blends with the sound of birds chirping on the nearest tree, occasionally joined by the lively voices of children and the softer tones of their parents strolling through the park. The high-pitched whirr of the milk frother soon gives way to the crinkle of leaves dancing in the wind, accompanying the cheerful call: “Here is your chai! The napkins are on the side of the scooter.”
Winter has just arrived, and the cold months cause chilly winds to hit the passersby. Most people seem to be in the comfort of their homes at four o’clock in the afternoon on a Thursday.
There, standing tall in the cold, tucked behind a small green scooter, is Stavros Moraitis, the owner of Morjoy tuk-tuk cafe located in Flevopark. A small chalkboard is placed next to him, displaying coffee orders and specials offered. Moraitis greets us with a smile from behind the espresso machine as he prepares the orders.
“It started feeling quite cold,” Moraitis explains, handing us our steaming beverages. “It was a bit windy just before, and then when it’s windy, it feels 10 times colder.”
Six years ago, in 2019, Moraitis moved to Amsterdam from Greece with his girlfriend, who grew up in the Dutch capital. Having worked in accounting before, he was planning on finding a job within his initial profession, but the COVID pandemic made this plan all the more difficult. After the second lockdown, Moraitis decided to open his own business to share his passion for coffee: “We called the supplier to ask how to manage getting this or that”, which is when he was introduced to selling coffee from a tuk-tuk: “I had no idea that this kind of business existed before. We got all the information, and we started,” he says.
It was only in the past three years, following his mother-in-law’s advice, that he moved his business from Martin Luther Kingpark to Flevopark. “It’s different, it’s like a small village [Flevopark]. Everybody knows each other,” Moraitis explains with a smile.
Beside the tuk-tuk sits Floris, a regular at Morjoy, enjoying his Pumpkin Spice Latte special. “Lovely coffee,” Floris says in Dutch. He lives 15 minutes away in Diemen, but comes for the atmosphere and the drinks. Moraitis interjects that Floris has been slowly making his way through each position on the menu.
Having been located in Flevopark for the past three years, the last one and a half brought the business unprecedented popularity. Moraitis believes this is due to a community-building approach and the high quality of the product, which are at the core of his brand’s philosophy. “Coffee is my main product, so it has to be perfect. But the relationships with people are more important,” Moraitis comments, soon interrupted by one of the customers greeting him from the other side of the park lane.
He explains that direct client contact and building personal connections matter most to him in his profession. “They also know a lot about me as Stavros. They know about my life. We talk a lot, and it’s real, you know, it’s not only business and coffee.”
And these close relationships become evident when a customer lines up and begins to talk to Moraitis in Greek. After a few minutes of conversing, the customer leaves satisfied with a cup of coffee. “It’s nice. Every day I have somebody Greek,” Moraitis notes.
When prompted about his favourite anecdotes on working in the park, he recalls: “One day, I remember I was already closing everything, and I started driving out of the park, and I saw from my mirror two ladies running behind me, waving. I asked, ‘What happened?’ [and they said] ‘Please, we would like to have two brownies!’”
While autumn is his favourite season to serve, Moraitis finds the most difficult part of the job to be the weather, especially during winter: “Just before this season sets in, I always have in my mind ‘Oh, winter is coming. It’s cold again. What’s gonna happen? Is it gonna be busy? Is it gonna be raining a lot?’ Because if it rains a lot, then, business-wise, it’s a disaster. If I don’t work for a whole month, it’s hard.”
As a dedicated business owner, Moraitis hand-makes the treats and syrups he offers, explaining that they could easily be bought at the market, but he enjoys putting effort into making them: “People, when they see it’s homemade, even if it’s not perfect, they still appreciate it,” Moraitis explains, gesturing at the brownies and cookies that are on display.
Moraitis mentions how, despite apparent accessibility, it’s also not that easy to run a tuk-tuk. Scooter maintenance, cleaning his station, and preparing the ingredients require dozens of hours spent at work. “Behind the scenes, it’s insane,” he notes.
When shared with a loved one, however, even the inconveniences become instigators for further growth. Roxane, Moraitis’ partner, handles his Instagram marketing and assists him with his daily endeavours. “She was always helping me, but now she’s officially full-time here with me,” Moraitis adds, emphasising how important having such a support system is to him.
Moraitis envisions opening a second location for his business, this time sharing the gezellig spirit in an owned cafe. “Good coffee, homemade bakes, homemade products – trying to keep the same cosiness and connection with people,” he shares. “And one thing I know for sure is that I am not going to stop with the park. It is gonna be challenging, but I will definitely find a way to do both,” Moraitis concludes, smiling.
While savouring the last drops of our warm drinks, we bid farewell to our new friend. You too can experience Morejoy in Flevopark from 9:30-16:00 most weekdays and until 16:30 on the weekends. Unless, of course, it rains.
The Herring 