OpenSoon 2022: the winning businesses have been announced

You are not alone in your business adventure. For the past 12 years, the Region has been facilitating and financing the opening of bold, high quality businesses on its territory via a €15,000 grant called OpenSoon. The aim is to diversify its commercial offer and encourage the development of innovative brands. Here are the 36 lucky ones from the 2022 batch!

The newcomers

Soleil Bakery – Schaerbeek

Soleil Bakery is a local micro-bakery in the heart of Schaerbeek, where Antoine offers a gourmet, innovative and unique range of baked sourdough goods.
Breads, pastries and savoury products, everything is hand-made on the premises with time and passion, using quality raw materials that are organic and as local as possible. 

Hearth Project – Brussels Centre

After 2.5 years of trials and tribulations in shared production workshops, the ASBL Hearth Project, which fights against food waste by cooking social meals from unsold food, opened its own permanent social production space in May 2022! It is also home to a plant-based & sustainable restaurant that finances the social activities of the ASBL (Entropy) and an aromatic garden, and is developing a canning facility for fine unsold food products for 2023!

Casa Mariposa – Ixelles

Casa Mariposa is Noémie and Joël’s eco-responsible tattoo parlour project. The entire project is viewed through the prism of sustainability and the salon will be eco-managed. This new well-being cocoon will honour the traditional technique of hand-poke and its team of artists will be entirely female.

La fiancée du bijoutier – Etterbeek

Former occupants Auberge Espagnole Jette

Rachel and Stéphane are artisans and make their jewellery entirely on site. They use recyclable materials (only 925 silver and 18 karat gold), so each piece can be made to measure, repaired, transformed or recast. They offer a jewellery repair and transformation service because they are committed to putting unworn jewellery back into circulation.

Librairie Herbes folles – Anderlecht

Herbes folles is the first district bookshop in Anderlecht. Els welcomes customers with a quality selection of novels, essays, graphic novels, children’s literature and books in Dutch. Herbes folles will also offer sustainably sourced green plants, second-hand planters and a small, pleasant space where customers can enjoy a coffee or a drink from local producers while browsing the books.

Épicerie Horta – Forest

Ideas incubator participant

Youdra Guerreiro opened Épicerie Horta, a district grocery shop with a deli that offers organic, local food and a little bit of Portugal. It is a business focused on healthy and sustainable food that supports local, short circuits and small producers while giving a nod to Youdra’s Portuguese roots. 

Smala – Saint-Gilles

A few years after launching their catering business and “opening” their field in Anderlecht, Arth and Anaïs opened their farm-to-table restaurant in the centre of Saint-Gilles. The creative cuisine features vegetables grown by Smala Farming and other local products. Smala has set up shop in a 100 m² space on Chaussée de Waterloo for €2,500 per month.

Ivresse – Uccle

Ivresse comprises four associated restaurateurs in a project that has been important to them for a long time. It combines a gourmet restaurant and a caterer and wine merchant in the same place. They want to share our vision of food which is part of a circular economy approach, to value and share the work of their suppliers which is the cornerstone of the project.

Perruche – Forest

Perruche is a Bistro, a friendly, benevolent place for the Union district in Forest, where Jeremy lives.  Customers can have a drink, a coffee and/or a meal there from noon to 10pm. A la carte: two dishes of the day including at least one vegetarian, soup and sandwiches from 12 to 3pm and then the “becquées” of PERRUCHE (homemade snacking plates) from 3 to 9.30pm.

Zotte Pot – Uccle

Florence has opened a sustainable grocery shop in the Myosotis district in Uccle. At the Zotte Pot, she sells local, ethical and organic products – food, cosmetics and cleaning products – in bulk and will offer a series of workshops related to the themes of zero waste and sustainable food.

Jalou – Brussels Centre

The JALOU ice cream shop, located at 300 Avenue Rogier, has been revitalising the district by offering artisanal ice cream and other local products since 17 June. Managed by Maxime and his wife Valérie, this family-run ice cream shop offers products that match their values: accessibility, quality, made in Brussels/Belgium and customer experience.

Le Guichet Des Bonnes Idées – Brussels Centre

Le Guichet Des Bonnes Idées opened on 1 March 2022, responding to the ever-increasing evolution of consumer behaviour and growing social and ecological awareness. Visitors will find ecologically grown ornamental plants and a unique line of fashion and lifestyle items that change regularly. The products are produced locally and have as small an environmental footprint as possible. Customers will also soon be able to enjoy a snack or a healthy drink.

Roseline d’Oreye – Brussels Centre

Roseline d’Oreye has opened her shop at No 10 Galerie du Roi in Brussels. She will sell her fashion accessories, whose common thread is great attention to quality and respect for the product. With a definite Belgian identity, her creations are particularly suited to tourist visitors to the Galleries in search of a sophisticated souvenir of Belgium.

Kroket – Ixelles

Alexandre, Antoine and Benjamin have different skills and backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: a love of good food. KROKET is the expression of their common passion with a Belgian flagship product, the croquette in all its forms, but also the combination of values dear to them, such as short circuits, artisanal quality for all, the reuse of unsold goods and social responsibility.

OZER Concept – Brussels Centre

Former occupant the Auberge Espagnole Etterbeek

Melissa has opened a second-hand clothing and accessories shop called “OZER concept”. Her merchandise comes from a selection of pieces from donors who bring in clothes they no longer wear and want to sell. This is what is called a “deposit and sale” system, which is part of a circular economy approach since it involves selling what already exists so it can be reused.

La Petite Grange – Woluwé-Saint-Pierre

After years of working as a baker in his father’s family bakery, Romain Fiume decided to start his own business with his wife Weronika. They have opened an artisanal bakery with respect for animals and ecology. Organic and/or local raw materials.

Just Electronic – Brussels Centre

Former occupant Auberge Espagnole Tri Postal

Abdoulaye Bah has opened a shop/workshop in a space of about 60 m2 in the Central Station for a variable rent of 10% depending on his turnover. He offers the services of his young start-up launched in 2020: offering a second life to the equipment collected in the shop by reconditioning it; he also offers repair workshops.

Wabi – Uccle

Convinced that rethinking our consumption also involves our living space, Elise & Catherine opened a shop at the end of April offering well-produced sustainable furniture, decoration and everyday objects, without compromising on aesthetics, to beautify our daily lives and create simple, comfortable and sensitive interiors. 

Chez Cubitus – Woluwé-Saint-Lambert

Nicolas has opened a modern boardgames bar. Its menu is based on three pillars: simple local food, quality Belgian beers and a truly diverse range of soft drinks. In addition to this, 500 games are available to play on the premises, and there is also an activity leader to explain the games and advise customers.

Napulitana – Saint-Gilles

Napulitana is the first embassy of Naples cuisine and art in Europe: authentic dishes never before seen in Brussels, to eat in or take away (in customers’ bowls or metal containers sold on site); cooking workshops; catering; social eating events; art gallery and bookshop.

Piola Piccola – Saint-Gilles

Waste is sacrilege. This is even more true when talking about books to which we entrust our memory. With this belief, Jacopo, Chiara and Alessandro decided to create Piola Piccola. At Piola Piccola, you will find second-hand books in Italian (with a corner dedicated to French and English) as well as coffee, beer and Italian wine to buy or consume on site, accompanied by a small selection of sweet and savoury products.

Sample Slow Jewelry – Brussels Centre

Former occupant the Auberge Espagnole Etterbeek

Sample Slow Jewelry is a workshop-boutique concept where artisans make jewellery in the “workshop” space that is sold in the “boutique” space and online. Introduction to jewellery workshops are also held in this “workshop” space. Through this project, Nora wants to encourage craft, local production and sustainability in the jewellery sector. Her jewellery is timeless and made from recycled metals.

Wonderbao – Ixelles

Former ideas incubator participant

Vincent and Sébastien have opened a plant-based fast good restaurant in Ixelles. The flagship product will be the bao, a steamed brioche bun served XL and stuffed with plant proteins, lacto-fermented condiments, homemade sauces and seasonal raw vegetables. The side dishes follow these same guidelines.

Muhire – Jette

Muhire Concept Store offers a selection of handicrafts and creations of African origin or with ethnic influences. Muhire Concept Store opened at the beginning of 2022. It has a surface area of +/- 75 m² for rent of 650 euros and its turnover grows month after month thanks to its location in a municipality like Jette which is itself developing rapidly.

Tarh – Brussels Centre

Sou achieved the crazy project of launching the first 100% refundable cosmetic store in Belgium, in store and online. Unlike the shops already on the market, Tarh does not sell products packaged in single-use plastic.

OUI OUI – Saint-Gilles

With numerous training courses with quality artisans in the ice cream and biscuit sector, Karim also has significant experience in HoReCa. Today, he has launched his own production of vegan ice cream and artisanal cookies. In February 2022, he moved to Saint-Gilles where he welcomes customers from the district as well as vegans from all over the region.

Coming soon to your neighbourhood

Aube – Forest

Jean-Yves, Thomas and Christoph have renovated an old garage in Forest to launch AUBE, a bakery/workshop producing artisanal bread, as well as a sustainable cafe “where we eat” which will offer simple healthy food, to eat in or take away, designed around their flagship product, sourdough bread.

Pinpin – Marolles

Manon has opened an artisanal and sustainable bakery in the Marolles district. She will sell French and international bakery products, made with sourdough, using local, seasonal, sustainably grown produce, as well as artisanal food products and several bottles.

Cho Cho – Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

Former occupants Auberge Espagnole Tri Postal + former ideas incubator participant

Florencia and Emmanuel have opened the first shop in Brussels dedicated to Argentinian cookies and confectionery. Their specialities are alfajores: small Argentinian cakes filled with dulce de leche. They produce these delicacies entirely on site according to their four principles: artisanal, local, organic and low-fat.

Badi – Saint-Gilles

Badi is the original project of a cider bar in the municipality of Saint-Gilles. In a friendly setting, with a warm, contemporary design, customers can choose from a hundred ciders, all artisanal, great quality and made from cultures that respect the living, the soil and the nature which surrounds it. 

Potiche – Uccle

Joana has opened “POTICHE ceramic club”. It is a place to learn, meet and share while getting their hands dirty.  She will also sell utilitarian pieces she has made herself and those of other designers to highlight local artisanal work, favouring the use of Belgian raw materials.

Pina – Saint-Gilles

Dimitri and Alexis have opened an authentic street food taqueria.  The tacos will be made with organic products from short circuits. They will be located on Chaussée de Waterloo, at Place Communale, in a small space (65 m2) in a booming area.  

Kitsune – Saint-Gilles

Former occupants Kokotte 1

Pauline and Guillaume will open their 100% homemade vegan burger restaurant in Saint-Gilles. Their processes are completely in line with a sustainable and Good Food approach, for which they are seeking to obtain certification this year. Their all-vegan cuisine is inspired by Japanese flavours and Korean street food and brings vegans and meat lovers together at the same table.

Refoodgees – Saint-Gilles

Former occupants Kokotte 1

Arthur has opened Refoodgees, a social integration restaurant that hires and trains refugees and new arrivals in the kitchen, bar and dining room so they can share their culture through cooking. Refoodgees offers ethical, seasonal and local world cuisine. The restaurant will be located at Rue Emile Féron 153 in Saint Gilles in the Maison des Associations for a rent of €1,000 and is due to open in December 2022. 

Konchū – Ixelles

Former occupants Kokotte 1

Konchū will be the first Japanese curry canteen in Brussels. Its founders, Raphaël and Elie, share their passion for Japan through their values: respect for the seasons, valuing partners and a taste for discovery. Japanese curry is in the spotlight at 20 Rue Ernest Solvay, in a warm setting that will open in early 2023.

Damn Good – Brussels Centre

Crowdfunding underway: https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/damn-good-cafe-specialty-coffee-and-sandwiches/tabs/description

Damn Good is a project led by four partners: Eléonore, Louise, Pierre and Paul. Together, they will open a speciality coffee shop in the Alhambra district in the centre of Brussels. In addition to using quality, ethically produced and house-roasted coffee beans, they will serve food based on hot sandwiches, homemade from the bread to the fillings, all using seasonal local products.