Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Belgian café groups LIBERTAP, BeTOOGing, and BarRage protest the decline of traditional cafés, citing unfair contracts with liquor companies like HLS. Organizer Jan Van den Bossche and ex-café owner Filip Jans demand rental-beverage contract separation.
Belgian café groups LIBERTAP, BeTOOGing and the French BarRage, are protesting because they’re worried about the loss of traditional cafés. They think it’s a big part of their culture. A popular café in Brussels, Au Daringman, recently closed, and the groups are upset. They say that many cafés in Brussels are struggling after the pandemic.
They say that cafés are important places for people to meet, but many are closing down because they don’t have enough money. The protesters say that these cafés are being replaced with apartment buildings, and they think this is a bad thing. They think it’s unfair that it’s so hard for independent cafés to stay open.
“The cafés in Brussels are doing badly,”
Says organizer Jan Van den Bossche.
“The corona crisis has proven that cafés have great value as meeting places.
Why are Belgian café owners protesting liquor contracts?
According to the café groups, one reason cafés are closing is because of unfair contracts with liquor companies. These contracts force café owners to buy drinks from only one company and pay high prices. This makes it hard for cafés to make money.
The groups want the government to make rules to stop liquor companies from taking advantage of café owners. They want to make sure cafés can stay open and that people can enjoy Belgian café culture for a long time.
“Cafes are often obliged to enter into such a contract to rent a building,”
Says Van den Bossche.
Filip Jans, the former owner of the well-known Brussels café De Monk, is also worried about the unfair contracts that café owners have to sign. He says these contracts take away the café owners’ freedom to choose what drinks they sell. The contracts tell the owners what drinks they must buy from the big companies.
Jans mentioned that this makes all cafés look the same and takes away the special character of Belgian cafés. He says that in some villages, this has led to the disappearance of traditional cafés or the loss of their individuality because they are forced to serve only mass-produced drinks from the big companies.
The protesters are upset with companies like HLS, which controls many beer taps in Belgium. They say that these companies make it hard for independent café owners to compete. They say that the companies force owners to buy their drinks if they want to rent their space.
The protesters have written a document with their demands, which they want to give to politicians. They want the government to change the rules so that café owners can rent their space without having to buy drinks from a certain company. They want to make sure that local and independent breweries can still sell their beers in these cafés.
“We have made a manifesto to hand over to the politicians,”
Says Van den Bossche.
“For example, we want a split between rental and beverage contracts.”
