2024-01-05 10:57:03
What is happening in the Horeca sector? Why did 911 establishments, or one in five bistros, close their doors in Wallonia between 2013 and 2022? We asked ourselves the question as we pushed open the door of Madeline’san establishment in Naast (Soignies) which welcomes its share of regulars every day.
As is often the case, the first arrivals sit down at a table to discover the news reported in the columns of the local gazette. This before the arrival of the first workers who came to refresh themselves after their “early morning” or simply take their lunch break. The imperative for these zinc regulars: to exchange, to discuss the matter, to remake the world, to talk about anything but to talk. Avoid falling back on the screen, whether small or large.
And at Madeline, there is no shortage of topics for conversation since her establishment is also the headquarters of several associations “We have gilles, football, a cycling club, Ecaussinnes walkers”, lists the former owner. But having a clientele is not everything, as his son, who recently took over management of the café, bitterly notes. “There is rent, there are charges, raw materials which are increasing”notes Guillaume Becq, “It therefore becomes very, very complicated to navigate and we are therefore not immune to having to postpone the trade.”
To survive, cafe owners try to diversify their activities with small restaurants or the organization of more events but this is not always enough. “We are the second sector where bankruptcy judgments are concentrated in Wallonia”, notes Luc Marchal, president of the Horeca Wallonia Federation. “From time to time, there are young people who take over an establishment but this is happening more and more rarely because they fear not making enough money to make ends meet.”
It is in rural areas that the survival of these bistros is the most problematic: in ten years, six Walloon municipalities have lost the last establishments in their territory.
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