
L’Auberge Espagnole: coaching and retail incubation
- Motivations
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Start
- Sectors
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Retail
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Retail & Horeca
Do you want to get started in the retail business? Come test your concept for less and with less risk at the Auberge Espagnole Etterbeek and Saint-Gilles, our two retail pop-up store incubators! We provide personalised coaching and expert advice before, during and after your temporary occupancy.
- The call for candidates for the Auberge Espagnole is now closed. Stay up-to-date on our next call for candidates by signing up for our newsletter!
- You have a retail concept but you don’t know where to start? Join our ideas-incubator!
- Have you already tested your concept? Get development support from our Retail team!
How can the hub.brussels team help you during your stay at l’Auberge Espagnole?
Our team provides sustained coaching suited to your needs before, during and after your stay at l’Auberge Espagnole, over a period of two to three months, at your choice.
Approximately two months before you move in, you will get the benefit of personalised coaching which will start with a meeting with one of our coaches who will be tasked with assessing the maturity of your project and with testing the viability of your concept.
Next, the skills of external experts will be made available for more specific needs: offline marketing, digital, press relations, etc.
The coaching will end with the actual fitting-out of the pop-up store, which is configurable as required.
We also provide a series of tools to measure the potential of opening the business.

Manon Ferrière
Project Leader, hub.brusselsL’Auberge Espagnole Saint-Gilles is:
- temporary occupancy for 2 to 3 months
- a 55 m² space in the Midi district, shared with 2 or 3 people
- attractive rent of €500/month (to be shared between the occupants)
- expert advice & personalised coaching
- a mystery shopper session to optimise your customer service
L’Auberge Espagnole Etterbeek is:
- temporary occupancy for 2 to 3 months
- a 65 m² space in the European district
- attractive rent of €350/month
- expert advice & personalised coaching
- a camera at the entrance of the store to calculate the daily flow of customers
- a system to measure customer satisfaction with your concept and products
- A mystery shopper session to optimise your customer service
These companies tested their project at L’Auberge Espagnole

Mélanie Maudoux & Lucie Duchesne
WeCo StoreThis incubator helped us to be more confident , to develop our project further and to make adjustments. To find out more about our customers and their needs. But most of all to understand how a shop works , thanks in particular to the coaching and support we received from hub.brussels

Nasima Amin
BotawallThanks to L'Auberge Espagnole, I realised that the presentation of my products was very important. Moreover, I was able to create real visibility for my brand. I loved the modular furniture, affordable rent, quality lighting and specialised coaching provided by hub.brussels!

Lisa Kajita & Samuel Urbain
Le Food KornerThe fact that we could try out our ideas in practice allowed us to develop our project. We also discovered the importance of retail design during one of the superb coaching sessions offered by hub.brussels. A very beneficial experience, ideal for small businesses like ours!
What are the conditions for joining the retail incubator?
To join the incubator, you must:
- be legally capable
- be an adult
- have the level of French and/or Dutch required to run a store
- present an original and innovative retail project for the Brussels-Capital Region
- Propose fairly priced products and services, i.e. adapted to the product and suitable for both the producer and end-customers
- have an ethical, responsible and sustainable approach: the products proposed must ideally be sourced locally or in Europe
- not have a hospitality business (the premises do not have the zoning)
- plan to open a permanent retail business in the Brussels-Capital Region
Do you have a question about L’Auberge Espagnole?
Contact our team!
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Our services
OpenSoon offers coaching and financial support of a maximum of 15,000 euros to future entrepreneurs wishing to open an innovative and quality business in the Brussels-Capital Region.
Are you opening a retail business soon? Have you recently opened one or are you planning on expanding? hub.brussels’ coaches follow your commercial project, from idea to realisation.
Do you want to open your own restaurant? Come test your culinary concept for less and with less risk at Kokotte, our hospitality incubator.