The history of the Zalmhuis started in 1863, when Adriaan Dekkers bought a guest house with a restaurant on the Hooge Zeedijk. Opposite the Estaminet, as the café is called, there is a dome and a yard. In 1875, Dekkers began building and building a covered market for the auction and sale of salmon, shad, ide, wood, twaite shad and sturgeon on that site outside the dykes. This market will grow into the largest salmon auction in the Netherlands.
Jan van den Akker took over the establishment around 1880. He knows how to turn the café into a thriving business. In 1896 Van den Akker had a pavilion built on top of the salmon market. The pavilion soon became too small and in 1905, during the heyday of Art Nouveau, Van den Akker was granted permission to build a new pavilion, which was built on steel columns above the water. The first heyday of the Zalmhuis has begun. When the Zalmhuis opens its doors in 1906, the salmon in the rivers goes downhill. The flood disaster of 1953 is the beginning of the end for the Zalmhuis. That end is accelerated by the advancing industrialization and the construction of the Van Brienenoord Bridge. The feather becomes redundant. Shortly after 1955, the demolition hammer put an end to the rich history of the Zalmhuis. A temporary end. The first new pile was built in 1999 and the Zalmhuis made a comeback in 2002. In 2020, the Zalmhuis will be completely renovated with a surprising interior.