– I was asked if I could get a crocodile. It must be the strangest request, explains general manager and owner Joker Hvasser.
“Norway’s most prolific Joker”
“Many strange things”
Yes, the students argue. On Google reviews many people noticed the strange shop out at the gap in the sea at Hvasser.
The island is the summer paradise of many of the richest people in Norway. He left his mark on Stein Iversen’s Joker.
– This is the typical message, says Iversen and shows the mobile phone.
Photo: Adrian Nielsen
Many strange things
Russian blinis that can be served with salmon pie, salsiccia from Italy, stuffed peppers from Macedonia and chilli honey from Calabria.
With that variety, Iversen has adapted to the affluent customer group.
– We have milk and bread too!
The idea behind it is that it is better to bring in what they want, than to shop at the store next door.
– My most expensive thing is Pata Negra. It is a ham from a black pig in Spain.
Four kilograms of ham from Iberico pigs, which are fed almost exclusively on acorns, costs NOK 8,000.
On the shelf we find several precious milliliters. The 20-year-old balsamic costs NOK 1,000.
– I just sold the one that was 40 years old. It cost NOK 3,000.
Application
– I get requests every day and I say yes, even if we don’t manage to sell it.
The time he was asked about a crocodile, unfortunately he had to disappoint the customer. It almost never does.
– I don’t have the opportunity to introduce fresh products.
Customers have created the store a unique option.
– There are many rich and famous here.
But there are even more that aren’t, he clarifies.
– It is not a snobbish place. Many of the billionaires are as happy to have a beer with me as with anyone else.
Stein Iversen is described as a familiar face and an original type out of Hvasser.
– I had pink hair for three years. It started during the pandemic because I wanted to make people smile and laugh.
The kids think it was great fun, Iversen explains. It was just a problem.
– I got so thin in the end, so I had to stop.
This will be season number 14 in the store.
– I love my job. It’s never boring.
He originally owned five stores. Then the merchant had a persistent bad conscience and a bad time.
– That’s why I sold the others and kept the coolest one.
– No restrictions!
Not surprisingly, Iversen is on a first-name basis with most of the customers he meets outside of the store.
– What you can’t find here is not worth having, says customer Steinar Erlingsen to VG.
Born and raised in Hvasser, Erlingsen says Jokeren delivers everything you could want.
– No restrictions! Stein delivers at a high level, there’s a lot of talk about it, says Erlingsen.
– I can pay you later, jokes the merchant Joker.
Otherwise, he likes to fool around with the signs in the shop:
The local Joker shop earns the same in two hours in July as a full week in February.
According to the merchant, 80 percent of the turnover comes in the summer.
However, Iversen chooses to stay open through the winter. This is because of the local population.
– It is no secret that we are going into deficits in the winter. But it’s a local people’s shop.
It has no plans to close.
– We will remain open to them as long as I am here!
Correction
In an earlier version of the case, Pata Negra was said to be ham from hazelnut-fed pigs. The right thing is that the pigs are fed on acorns. The case was amended on 15 July 2024, at 12:39.
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