António Mendes Capinha

António Mendes Capinha, a Portuguese entrepreneur living in the Netherlands for 37 years, has been selling Portuguese and Spanish products since 2010 at the Almere Stad market.

It all started when António was diagnosed with liver cancer and decided to sell his restaurants and begin another career selling churros, since he knew a very good and old recipe. However, as time went by, he realized that there was also a great demand for Portuguese products. Gradually, he added these products to his offer and the sales tripled, customers and friends too and today he is a reference in
the Netherlands. 'We are the “Mercado da Saudade”', says António, 'because we also “sell” joy, memories and, for many, we are the meeting point where everybody, while enjoying a cup of coffee, exchange words with their countrymen, thus creating new friendships'.

The Dutch have already discovered him and our custard tarts (“pastéis de nata”) are very popular (every Saturday António sells hundreds of them). There are also Brazilian products for the wider Portuguese-speaking community.

António sells dried codfish (the famous “bacalhau”), gourmet olive oil, cheeses (like the famous “Serra da Estrela” cheese, internationally awarded), wines from Alentejo region, green wine, various liqueurs such as Beirão, “ginjinha” from Óbidos, beers, butter, sausages, canned products like the delicious tuna in steak from the Azores and traditional pastries as the “Torta de Azeitão”. António also sells some Portuguese handcrafted ceramic pieces.

António: 'It is with great pleasure that we welcome everyone. I love my work, socializing and every day we have new customers. I always try to convey what Portugal has to offer - that we are good people, everyone knows. I am proud of my country and what I do. There is always a little story to tell, an attention to give. Come and meet us! We are here to welcome you at the “ti Tóino” stand.'