The police in the Brussels-Capital/Ixelles area confirmed that they intervened on the spot, without making any further comments. The spokesperson for the Brussels public prosecutor’s office, Sarah Durant, also confirmed an intervention by her office at the said address, refusing to give further details on the circumstances of the facts.
Rudy Van Lancker was 63 years old, according to L’Echo. He had also recently taken over another institution of Brussels cuisine, Aux Armes de Bruxelles, located just opposite Chez Léon.
The boss of the emblematic Chez Léon represented “the fifth generation of the family which operated this chip shop, which over the years has become the specialist in mussels, opened in 1893”, recalls the daily. “Rudy Van Lancker took over the business in 1982, two years following the death of his father. In 2018, he took over the restaurant Aux Armes de Bruxelles, located just opposite Chez Léon”, he specifies.
Last November, Rudy Van Lancker granted an interview with La DH, in which he returned in particular to the difficulties encountered by the Horeca sector because of the Covid crisis. “The Covid cost me 20 years of savings,” he said.
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