Our

story

For Marcus and Nicole van Winden The Dutch is destiny. They wanted to create a comfortable refuge serving fabulous food, refreshing drinks and offering guests exceptional service. Beyond that they wanted to do it in a way and a place that really means something to them.

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Marcus was born and raised in Holland where he attended an elite culinary school under European Master Chefs and worked at some of the country’s finest Michelin Star restaurants. After several years he felt the urge to wander and set sail on Holland America Cruise Line as the Fine Dining Chef.

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Nicole is a Native of Tucson and a Wildcat through and through. After attending the University she also felt the call of the wide open ocean and spent several years on Norwegian Cruise Line before taking on the role of Assistant Cruise Director on Holland America Cruise Line.

So the Chef from Holland met the Wildcat from Arizona and, as they say, the rest was history. They got married and had kids and after several years (during which time Marcus worked at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort and was Executive Chef of Lodge on the Desert) found themselves running The Holland Hotel in Alpine, Texas. After their stint in Far West Texas they decided it was time to move back home and strike out on their own.

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Continuing with their apparent life theme, Marcus and Nicole found a great space, next to the University of Arizona, and named it The Dutch Eatery & Refuge.

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Welkom!

Since

2017

family owned and operated