Bab Flouri
Zohra Abbou
When you step into Bab Flouri, you are immediately embraced by the aroma of slowly simmering tagine dishes and sweet mint tea. The Moroccan restaurant is the long-cherished dream of owner Zohra Abbou. She is always in the kitchen herself to meticulously prepare the authentic dishes. “I do everything by intuition, I can't work with measuring cups. The spice combinations and quantities are in my fingers.”
Enterprising people who celebrate life
The Gate to Flouri
Bab Flouri is named after the neighborhood in the Moroccan city of Tangier, where Zohra was born. She was five when she came to the Netherlands and further grew up in Panningen. “Bab means ‘door’, and thus it means something like ‘the gate to Flouri’. “I thought it sounded cheerful, and to me, it refers to the fact that the door is always open here,” she explains. “And that’s exactly what I want here: for people to feel welcome.”
That hospitality is something deeply ingrained in her. “In Morocco, you live very much together with your family, village, or neighborhood. Eating together is a given there. Here, everything seems a bit more rushed. I wanted to create a place where people can sit, talk, and truly enjoy.”
"I wanted to create a place where people can sit for a moment, talk, and truly enjoy."
From bakery to dream
Before Zohra opened her own restaurant, she worked for almost thirty years with the same employer as a team leader. She cooked out of passion on the side. Alongside her full-time job and raising three children, she was already giving Moroccan cooking workshops and providing catering throughout the Netherlands. “I always got compliments: ‘You should do something with this.’ But yeah, starting your own restaurant, that's no small feat.” When her children were a bit older, and her catering business suddenly grew enormously during corona, she had to make a choice. “Do I stay with my employer until retirement, or do I follow my passion?” She smiles. “I thought: it’s a big risk, but if it doesn’t work out, at least I tried, and I’ll find other work. And now I’m super proud that I dared to take that step!”
In October 2023, Bab Flouri opened its doors. From the beginning, she had a clear vision. “I had already ordered the bench for the bay window before the contractor started,” she laughs. “I could see it all in my mind. The arches, the tiles, the atmosphere. It had to be authentic. Aesthetic. Instagram-worthy, as my daughter says.”
A real touch of Morocco
Zohra proudly calls Bab Flouri the only authentic Moroccan restaurant in Limburg. “Here you don't get modified dishes, but truly traditional food. Veal tagine with prunes and apricots. Couscous on Friday, as it should be. Harira soup during Ramadan. And bastilla, a savory chicken pie topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Sometimes people think it's a dessert,” she says with a laugh. “Until they taste it.”
What perhaps touches her the most are the reactions from guests. “When someone says, ‘This tastes like my mother used to cook,’ or ‘I've never tasted anything so delicious,’ that really touches me and makes my day. That's what I do it for.”
Zohra is the only one in the kitchen. In addition, two girls help with the service and her daughter manages the social media. “It's hard to let go of the cooking,” she admits. “Those spices, that's a feeling. Not everyone can do that.”
Entrepreneurship in Venlo
That she started a Moroccan restaurant in Venlo initially raised some eyebrows. “I was warned,” she says honestly. “But I notice little of that in practice. We have many Dutch guests, German tourists, and regular customers from all over Limburg, even from the south. People are curious. They google ‘halal’ and quickly find us. And then they keep coming back.”
On weekends, Bab Flouri is often full, partly thanks to German day-trippers from Düsseldorf and Dortmund. “They sometimes say that they eat better here than at home. That is a wonderful compliment.” Venlo now truly feels like home to her. “We live in Blerick ourselves, and we enjoy it there. With Bab Flouri, we are really in the middle of the center, among nice neighbors, and I am very happy with that. The city has also become more international in recent years, with students and tourists. That suits this cuisine well; we have more and more students who come here regularly to eat.”
"People are curious. They google 'halal' and soon end up here. And then they keep coming back."
Working with heart and mind
Entrepreneurship in the hospitality industry is intense, she knows by now. "You never know when people will come in. Sometimes it's quiet until five o'clock, and then suddenly it's full. We make everything fresh, so sometimes customers have to wait twenty or thirty minutes for their food. Some people find that long, but then I say: we're not a snack bar." She laughs. "Fortunately, people often understand once they have their dish on the table and see how much work goes into it."
The first years that Bab Flouri was open were quite challenging, but she has since learned to set her boundaries. An extra closing day on Tuesday provides a lot of peace. "Hospitality is a marathon. You have to stand firm. But I have a positive mindset. I always say: there's a solution for everything." Her family plays an important role in her business. Her husband, sisters, and children help out where needed. For example, her daughter assists her with communication, design, and social media, and her sisters and other two children are ready to lend a hand in case of emergencies. "They are super proud that I have established this and support me where needed. I find it very comforting to know; I can always count on them if necessary."
Looking Ahead
Where will Bab Flouri be in five years? Zohra thinks for a moment. "I hope that by then it's running so well that someone else can manage it here. That it no longer rests solely on my shoulders. That I walk in and see that everything is running smoothly. That would be wonderful." For now, one thing is paramount: ensuring quality and creating an atmosphere every day. "It has to be right. People should come in here and think: what a hidden gem." And once you sit down, you understand what she means. Because at Bab Flouri, you don't just taste Morocco; you also taste authenticity, courage, and a love for good food. Truly a place you'll want to return to.
