From Koksijde to Damascus, via Binche…
- François Remy
- Jul 11
- 3 min read
NOW OPEN – From a family holding company's new brand to a couple's very first horeca project, from a small neighborhood address to a franchisee's umpteenth QSR, a brief overview of newly opened locations.
Welcome to this third episode of Now Open! Through this short survey, Gondola Foodservice is helping to map what's driving the industry. By identifying the players who are (re)defining our culinary landscape.
On the menu today: a seaside trattoria, a burger with heart, elastic but artisanal ice cream...
A culinary rarity in the seaside resort
In the coastal town of Koksijde, 79% of restaurants offer Franco-Belgian cuisine. Armed with this market research, the Nuytten family, which manages the Price & Quality group, supported their daughter Anne-Sophie in a niche initiative: the opening of Trattoria Rimini, a typical Italian brasserie , in the seaside resort of Saint-Idesbald.
Trained at the local Ter Duinen hotel school and specializing in oenology, Anne-Sophie met her partner, Wesley Parmentier, during a hospitality internship. He honed his skills at the former three-star Bruges restaurant Karmeliet and will not hesitate to contribute to the success of this new seaside trattoria, which seats fifty.
A Brussels address where you can find the flavors of Damascus
Chef and entrepreneur Georges Badghi Sar dreams of becoming "the first Michelin-starred Syrian restaurant." Meanwhile, the creator of the Syrian street food chain My Tannour (7 establishments, 85 employees, €8 million in revenue) has unveiled a new concept. A new kind of coffee shop/ice cream parlor in Ixelles, Booza . The offerings are focused on a single product: ashta or booza, named after the traditional Syrian ice cream.
This is the famous "elastic ice cream," already popular in our country thanks to its virality on social networks, whose texture comes from the sap of the turbinado pistachio tree then pounded manually. Levantine specialties can accompany it, as can more exotic hot drinks than usual (Syrian chai latte, pistachio mocha, etc.)
A chip shop with a lucky star
Jean-Philippe and Émelie Garo, the newcomers to the Durbuy hospitality industry with their brand new chip shop Gar Ô Frites , asked Michelin-starred chef Manon Schenck to create a special Télévie burger for them. A round beetroot bun, meat and cheese from local producers, and a homemade sauce—the specifications are as strict as the burger is generous: 5 euros from each sale are donated to Télévie.
Strategically located along a busy road, the chip shop is housed in a container converted by local carpenters. It's quite an adventure for these career changers, who come from the automotive and banking sectors respectively.
From amateur caterer to restaurateur
Having moved to Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders with her family five years ago, Nipat Phanchoophet taught Thai cooking classes and provided catering services for small events. Although she had worked as a flight attendant for many years, she was putting her experience in the Thai hospitality industry, previously acquired in Bangkok, to good use.
"The positive feedback has prompted me to consider opening my own restaurant again," she told Nieuwsblad . Nipat is opening TibTopThai this Friday, her conveniently located restaurant on Hendrik Heyman Square in the city center. Two separate entrances will ensure that takeaway customers don't have to clash with dine-in customers.
The owner intends to continue offering cooking lessons and also "home chef" services.
In Belgium, Burger King has already sold more than one Whopper per capita
As GFS mentioned last week , the network's youngest franchisee has just opened its second establishment in the Centre region. After the one in La Louvière, here is the Burger King in Binche , which notably translates into 40 new local jobs with a stated objective of upskilling.
With now around sixty points of sale in Belgium, the quick service restaurant (QSR) chain estimates that it has sold 12.3 million Whoppers, its signature burger, since its first opening in 2017, the director of operations of Burger Brands Belgium told La Nouvelle Gazette .
Previously on Now Open:
Are you about to open the doors of your establishment? Have you just inaugurated it? Let us know! We'll help you share the good news. Contact us to provide us with all the relevant information.
