Atomium restaurant seeks new buyer

The restaurant at the top of the Atomium is seeking a buyer, after running into financial difficulties for the third time in seven years.

Belgium Taste, which employs 25 staff, has applied for bankruptcy protection from a Brussels court and is looking for someone to take over the business, its lawyer Nicholas Ouchinsky told L'Echo.

According to the newspaper, the restaurant has never fully recovered from the impact that the 2016 Brussels terror attacks had on tourism.

Opened in 2006, Belgium Taste was popular with corporate events organisers due to its unique location. Two years later, the restaurant suffered the effects of the global economic downturn and made its first application for bankruptcy protection.

A second round of reorganisation was approved in March 2017 in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks. Restaurant management also blamed bad weather and breakdowns of the Atomium lift for disappointing trade.

A recent tax bill following an on-the-spot audit by inspectors has also contributed to the restaurant's problems, L'Echo reports.

"What's frustrating is that today the restaurant is working quite well," head chef Alexandre Masson told the paper. "It's kept 25 people in employment for many years and I do not want to have to throw in the towel."