At 68, Colmar undergoes a €7 million facelift to attract the youth

Facing the decline of its traditional clientele and growing competition in the fast-casual segment, the Belgian “casual dining” group has officially unveiled its three-year relaunch plan (2025–2027) through a visible achievement: the first Colmar Restaurant & Buffet in Belgium has opened its doors in Oostakker. Is this a superficial makeover or a deep structural overhaul?

“Oostakker marks the beginning of a new chapter in which we are preparing Colmar for the next generation,” says David Van den Weghe, CEO and third-generation member of the family business since early 2025. © Colmar / Ready to Rumble

“The relaunch is not simply a cosmetic restyling, but a full transformation of the brand, the concept, and the experience.” By rushing to clarify what the project is not in the first lines of its press release (namely a mere facelift), Colmar seems to adopt a defensive stance. This resonates like an implicit admission: the unveiling of the new concept masks an urgent necessity, the continuity of an aging brand. Or rather, a historic brand with a dwindling customer base…

Despite a turnover of nearly €35 million in the last fiscal year, Colmar SA deepened its losses for the third consecutive round, this time exceeding €1 million mark. The consortium had to close its Aartselaar restaurant last March, followed by the Crocodile in Massy in April. These decisions were necessary as part of the strategic restructuring of its operations, the primary objective of which is to optimize operations and thereby improve financial performance.

The board of directors is not concerned about the company's financial health, which it considers to have a solid equity base, sufficient liquidity, and a substantial real estate portfolio that can be mobilized if necessary. However, the directors acknowledge that management is concerned about the negative developments of recent years, "particularly following the coronavirus crisis and the changes in habits within the hospitality and restaurant sector, to which the Colmar Group did not sufficiently respond."

Under the leadership of its new boss, David Van den Weghe, who took over this year, the family business will invest €7 million over three years to modernize its network of 20 restaurants. But with an average budget of €350,000 per location, does the actual budget allow for anything more than a decorative makeover?

An imperative for rejuvenation

The chain, founded in 1957, operates five locations under the Colmar brand in Belgium and 15 under the Crocodile brand in France. Despite serving 1.5 million customers annually, the traditional all-you-can-eat buffet model certainly needed an overhaul to attract millennials and young families, whose consumption habits have also changed significantly since the pandemic.

Admittedly, with the arrival of David Van den Weghe, the third generation in the family group, the market could expect a transformational mandate, following the popular adage of "new chef, new strategy." "As CEO, my ambition is to make our assets even more visible and tangible. We are strengthening our relationship with our customers, giving even more life to our promise of quality and hospitality, and modernizing our presentation and communication," he explains.

The reopening of the Oostakker (Ghent) location on December 4th and the Antwerp location on December 17th will therefore serve as a showcase. The revamp will go beyond mere tweaks to the look & feel and will include a genuine repositioning, with a modernization of the customer journey (design, fluidity) to shed the image of a "daily grind canteen" that had previously clung to the brand.

Optimizing the operating model

On the industrial front, the group is maintaining its vertical integration strategy, an advantage for cost control. Production remains concentrated in Oudenaarde, where the R&D department and the central kitchen develop and standardize recipes for the entire Franco-Belgian network.

This centralized model allows the group to guarantee product consistency across both markets, maintain competitive prices through economies of scale (essential for preserving its "accessible" positioning) and, of course, reduce operational complexity in restaurants, thus limiting the impact of the shortage of skilled kitchen staff.

With a budget of €7 million spread over two years and twenty establishments, it seems realistic for rebranding (decor, furniture, customer journey) but perhaps insufficient for structural improvements. It's worth noting that during the first half of 2025, the company had already replaced all the refrigerated buffet counters in all its restaurants. Building on its family-oriented identity, Colmar also took care to completely update all the children's areas (kidscorners) with interactive wall furniture and a claw machine for a small gift before leaving.

But in parallel, with the help of the French strategy consultancy GIRA, a specialist in the out-of-home food market, the Colmar group carried out an in-depth repositioning exercise, based on customer surveys and market analyses. This involved a comprehensive review of the food itself, menu structure, pricing, and overall customer experience.

“The restaurant industry is undergoing a transformation at breakneck speed. A transformation that paralyzes some… and reveals the agility of others. Today, adapting is no longer an option: it’s a matter of survival. And change is never natural or comfortable. David Van den Weghe and Devigné Van den Weghe (COO of Colmar, editor’s note) had the courage to embrace it,” emphasized Bernard Boutboul, president of Gira.

"To restore relevance to the company"

In a market where the buffet concept is declining, Colmar aims to modernize without reinventing its model. Since 2024, the management team has been working diligently to find ways to attract new customers while winning back existing ones. Targeting young people, young couples, families, and colleagues, while remaining coherent for different generations, remains a commercial challenge. Trying to please everyone runs the risk of diluting the brand positioning. Has management succeeded in establishing a clear vision to "restore relevance to the company," to use the board's words?

"There is no doubt that a family restaurant aimed at the middle-class segment has its place in Flanders and Northern French, and that Colmar/Crocodile can achieve this through appropriate repositioning and rejuvenation," the directors note.

Colmar's new formula would be a gentle, slight move upmarket, as suggested by allusions to "modern design," new recipes, and "signature dishes." This would indicate a repositioning focused on value-for-money rather than low-cost , namely enriching (or at least reworking) the offering to shift from a "cheap" image to one of "good value."

Given the capital expenditure for renovations, the strategic plan prioritizes the profitability of the existing portfolio rather than immediate external growth. David Van den Weghe confirmed that any further territorial expansion will depend on the stabilization and commercial success of the new concept. Full rollout is expected by the end of 2027.

The success of this plan will obviously depend on the group's ability to convert these experiential investments into real gains: increased visit frequency, stronger appeal among target audiences, and operational excellence within an inherently demanding model. The coming months, and the successive renovations in France, where the first next-generation Crocodile opened in Tourcoing in October, will reveal the impact of this strategy.