The popular café in the centre of the Belgian and Flemish capital will reopen at the end of the January. ‘Billie’ as the café will henceforth be called will again serve its famous beers and pastas. The Monk was obliged to close at the beginning of May as the lease ended and no agreement could be reached with the property’s owners, independent drinks trader Horeca Logistic Services (HLS).
The pub will now be called Billie, “like in Billie Holiday, Billie Jean, Billie Eilish and so many more” say the new publicans.
The three new landlords Steven De Visscher, Leentje Bruyninckx and Dries Heyman all hail from Brussels and want the pub to remain a local landmark. Proprietors HLS are quite happy with that. “You don’t want to change an institution like this,” say brand-new publicans Steven, Leentje and Dries. “Despite its long-announced death, with all our heart and soul we are keen to continue the chronicle of this iconic café.”
Leentje Bruyninckx has a lot of experience running pubs. Brussels residents may know her as the co-owner of another well-known Brussels watering hole in the vicinity of the old café Monk, the Roskam. “The Roskam remains my baby and I will never let go of it. I once worked behind the bar at the very first Monk as a barmaid and now I will be able to show the new bar crew the ropes,” Bruyninckx says.
Dries Heyman, who is an expert in communication sciences, says that the new name will take some getting used to. “Of course, we wanted to continue using the Monk name. It has been part and parcel of this iconic café since its inception, but the previous operator decided otherwise,” Heyman notes. “That gives us the chance to start all over again in the same iconic café but with a new name.”
