Former commercial director becomes new CEO of Lunch Garden

Restaurant chain Lunch Garden is getting an old acquaintance as its new CEO: Sabine Vanderveken, former commercial director.

Sabine Vanderveken is taking over the reins at Lunch Garden, which is making a fresh start after a major restructuring. 42 of the 64 restaurants will continue and 430 employees will continue to work. Vanderveken succeeds Stephan Brouwers, who helped oversee the restructuring of the company, which came into the hands of the Antwerp investment company CIM Capital. According to a press release, the CEO change means “a new phase for Lunch Garden, with a strong focus on the further expansion of the brand”. It looked as if Brouwers would lead the company for the time being, but the choice ultimately fell on someone else. Sabine Vanderveken is a familiar face at the restaurant chain: she was commercial director from 2012 to 2022. She then moved to the small Brussels pizza chain Mamma Roma, where she was CEO. She will take up her new role from 15 May. Erik Verkest, CEO of CIM Capital: “Lunch Garden is now facing very different challenges and we need to tackle them together with Sabine. It is important that we now work on expanding Lunch Garden as a strong brand.”