Big names are deserting the Galerie Bortier

The food market, which was supposed to fuel the revival of the historic Galerie Bortier, is suffering a notable hemorrhage: of the eight restaurants and food establishments, three, and not the least, have already closed their doors in less than a year. Was it the failure of a concept or unfavorable external factors?

© Bortier Gallery / Facebook

"The main attractions at the November launch – Michelin-starred chef Yves Mattagne, renowned chef César Lewandowski and renowned butcher Hendrik Dierendonck – have ceased operations," notes local media outlet Bruzz . Does this mean that the "Gourmet Gallery" unveiled in November 2024 is not living up to expectations?

Winding through buildings at the foot of the Mont des Arts, this covered passageway, almost as old as Belgium (1847), was transformed, at the belated request of the City of Brussels, by Thierry Goor and Pascal van Hamme, the creators of the two Brussels food markets Wolf and Fox (SA Choux de Bruxelles). "Small food artisans" have thus been invited alongside second-hand booksellers to this gallery, which has always been linked to print, books, and publishing.

Not without headwinds from the regional administration and citizen groups. At the end of last year, the urban.brussels (formerly Brussels Urban Planning and Heritage) inspection service noted a series of regulatory violations, ranging from changes in the purpose and use of spaces to alterations to the appearance of listed properties without prior authorization.

A chaotic achievement?

The proof, according to the association federating the neighborhood committees Inter-Environnement Bruxelles (IEB) which filed a complaint , "of a diversion orchestrated by the City of Brussels for the benefit of stomach-oriented tourism. A food court in a luxury setting, where a few bookstores survive, as if in a decor, and where the hospitality industry is nothing of an accessory."

A heritage sacrilege, adds the work of memory of the citizen site Galerie Bortier , which would remain anecdotal if it did not occur "for the benefit of a sector, the Horeca, already over-represented in the city center, and with the active complicity of the Land Agency, owner of this public property, of which it clearly perceives nothing of the unique character that it represents."

© Platform Pentagone / Facebook

On July 17, the Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites (CRMS) issued an unfavorable opinion on the renovation of the Bortier Gallery . The commission regrets that "the lack of preliminary studies and the absence of a heritage methodology that meets a series of principles, in particular that of basing interventions on an in-depth knowledge of the property and its condition, of identifying its heritage values and of measuring the impact of the planned interventions, for a heritage property of this importance."

Supply without demand?

Already owning a successful butcher's shop on Rue Sainte-Catherine in the city center, Hendrik Dierendonck explained to Bruzz that the concept had not, as it stood, succeeded in attracting the desired clientele. The butcher would have preferred a food hall concept, rather than a courtyard or market model, which would open up the shops and invite visitors to pass through.

While their managers were not questioned about the reasons, the vacant premises of the Indian restaurant Naanry, owned by Michelin-starred chef Yves Mattagne and his son Sébastien, and the restaurant Polpo, a culinary experience by TV chef César Lewandowski, seem to tell the same story.

"A text on the window announces that a new concept will be opening soon," observes the Bruzz journalist. So the concept wouldn't scare everyone away. Thierry Goor and Pascal van Hamme's "pack" must not be lacking in talent. The two interested parties haven't yet expressed their views. But, in this unique context, their business model may still be of interest, as restaurateurs and retailers are exempt from rent in exchange for a commission on turnover.

While waiting for the next act of this "histhoreca" play, a regularization procedure is underway and the "original edition" of the Galerie Bortier is attracting visitors from Brussels and elsewhere...