The tables and chairs are out, the owners of bars and restaurants are busy: after almost seven months, the terraces reopen this Saturday in Belgium, in cool and rainy weather.
The reopening must bring a breath of fresh air to a sector in great difficulty, forced to close at the end of October to contain the pandemic, and which has been demanding this measure for months.
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If the Belgians can meet again to drink a beer, there is no question of congregating: the tables are limited to four guests, except for members of the same family who may be more numerous. Customers can only access the interior of cafes and restaurants to pay or go to the bathroom, wearing a mask. And the instruction is to close at 10 p.m. The curfew has meanwhile been lifted, replaced by a ban on gatherings of more than three people outside between midnight and 5 a.m.
At L'Altitude, a new bar in the Brussels district of Forest which opens today, it's the excitement.
The boss, Thomas Mamakis, 31, was initially due to open in March 2020, a project thwarted by the Covid.
"
I chose my moment, it's ideal
", jokes the young tattooed dark man, who oscillates between "
excitement
" and "
a little apprehension
".
In the open kitchen, where the stainless steel worktops have just been installed, the chef, Camille, prepares tacos.
In front of the bay windows, tables and chairs await customers on the large terrace.
Read also: Covid-19: How the owners of bars and restaurants are preparing for the reopening
"
We really want to welcome people, discuss, exchange, everything that we could not do for months,
" explains the young boss, critical of government measures. “
Putting 15 people in an office or at Ikea is possible, but not for small independents?
". "
Here frankly, we have a hundred square meters, we could be allowed 10 people,
" he said. “
When it comes to saving the banks, we are much more reactive than saving people who get up at 5 am to work,
” he says.