“I’m stopping while there’s still time, to avoid, like other colleagues, experiencing tragedies or putting a noose around their necks…” sighs Michaël Monari, 43.
“Done for me”
Next Friday, December 9, the manager of the Moulin à Frites in Naast (rue du Moulin, 69) will make his final batch of fries, before finally lowering his shutters. What will he do next? He doesn’t know it yet, the urgency was to stop the bleeding… “It was my first and last chip shop! The self-employed job is over for me,” he complains.
With a valiant heart, the Sonégien had taken over this establishment in February 2020. Barely a month before the start of the Covid epidemic. “We already had a lot of trouble adapting, even if we were able to get by thanks to the deliveries. But that wasn’t enough. This first crisis has already been a blow,” he explains.
The Ukrainian crisis and its consequences on the prices of energy and raw materials then dealt a fatal blow to this small chip shop. “When I started, the 10 kilo bag of fries was 6 euros and now it’s 9 euros. Fats and oils have increased by 20 to 25%, paper has increased, hamburger buns too…” explains the forty-year-old.
This merchant also saw the amount of his energy bill multiplied by three. So what to do? Raise its prices? “The large packet of fries is now at 3.20 euros. But you can’t kill customers either. Our regulars are families, even large families. If the prices are too high, it will really get complicated,” he points out.
Heating and fridges switched off
Reduce your energy consumption? But once more, it’s a real headache. “We had screens showing the menu, we turned them off. I also turned off the heating inside. Consequence: I have to put on a sweater to work and customers no longer want to sit down to eat. The fridges, I turn them off in the evening and I turn them back on around noon so that the drinks are cold in the evening,” lists the owner of the chip shop. “Unfortunately, fryers run on gas. I try to be very careful with the consumption but they must be at a certain temperature to be able to cook fries at all times…”
As expected, the retailer also suffered a drop in footfall. The ritual fries, this small Friday evening pleasure, this tradition well anchored in Belgium has ended up becoming a luxury for some households. “It’s heartbreaking. People are more careful to put a euro aside for heating or for the upcoming holidays. They come once a fortnight instead of once a week and spend less. Before, it was around 25 euros, today it’s regarding fifteen euros. »
Tired of fighting, Michaël announced last October to his clients that he was closing down. On November 9, it will be over. Until this fateful date, the manager decided to sell off his drinks. “And I will no longer restock my stocks, because if I buy back merchandise, I’m not sure I can sell it. I liquidate my fridges and the little I have left, I will sell it at a discount…”
So far, no buyer has come forward.