Why Brussels bars are increasingly closing earlier

Brussels bars have cut back their hours since the pandemic, largely due to increased wage costs as a result of inflation and indexation and stricter noise standards.

“Since the pandemic, we’ve started closing a bit earlier because it often makes little sense to stay open very late,” Leentje Bruyninckx of Café Roskam on Rue de Flandre told Bruzz. “That's just a cost-benefit analysis.”

Erik Beunckens of the Federation of Cafés of Belgium echoed the explanation, noting the impact a series of successive crises have had on the sector.

“There are several reasons for this trend. For example, wage costs have risen by 12%, but also going to the pub has simply become an expensive business and we see that as a result, fewer and fewer people are doing it,” Beunckens told Bruzz.

To name just a few examples: at Jardin Hospice, last call is announced around midnight in order to close by 0.30. Au Bassin is open until 1.30 and Cheval Marin closes at 2.00.

Thomas Kok, operator of Maison du Peuple in Saint-Gilles and Chez Richard on the Grand Sablon points to a summer effect as an explanation for the fact that his bar Maison du Peuple closes two hours earlier until September.

“Brussels simply empties out in the summer months,” Kok told Bruzz. “After the terrace closes, nobody wants to sit inside a hot bar. I therefore easily get 20% fewer customers. I've had to adapt to this reality, because tourists can't cope with that: they spend more of the day in bars, especially in the city centre.”

Another explanation for the earlier closing hours, according to Kok, is the strict noise standards in place in Brussels.

“For example, we have the necessary permits with Chez Richard, but local residents really put a lot of pressure and that just gets really tiresome in time,” Kok said.

“As soon as something is a little too late or too loud, sanctions are waved. We have therefore stopped all our events with DJs and the like in the meantime.

"Covid [also] seems to have made a lot of colleagues realise that it’s possible to slow down a bit: being open seven days a week isn’t necessary. There are also a lot of new operators who might not be willing to stay open until 5.00 in the morning. Possibly this is something generational?”

Noise restrictions are also the main reason for earlier closures cited by Leopold Van der Gracht, operator of Café des Minimes on Sablon, Café Circus in Ixelles and Le Cheval Marin on Quai aux Briques.

“The municipal authorities and police are too eager to act and in conflicts, local residents are always vindicated,” said Van der Gracht.

“This is a problem that has been going on for 10 years, but is slowly killing off our hospitality industry.”

At the same time, closing earlier does have advantages, said Leentje Bruyninckx of Roskam.

“We used to stay open until as long as the customer stayed, but fixed hours are actually very convenient and we find that the staff appreciate that too,” Bruyninckx said.

“Lack of clarity actually creates a lot more problems: why do you get served a drink one day and not the next? At least now there are clear rules: the last glass is at a quarter to three on Friday and Saturday. Nobody makes a fuss about that. Delhaize is also only open until eight and you don't start whining there either, do you?”

Jan De Greef of Café Kafka in Brussels city centre noted shifts in the industry overall.

“Since Covid, the job of bartender has also changed,” De Greef told Bruzz. “It’s become a bit more of a student job than a real career.

"Besides, I think those earlier closing hours have also become a bit of a habit since we were allowed to reopen after the pandemic. That went gradually until later and later, but everyone had developed the habit of not staying open too late in the meantime."