Aux Armes de Bruxelles seeks buyer to survive

A household name on the Brussels culinary front, Aux Armes de Bruxelles, in the historic Ilot Sacré area minutes from the Grand Place, is desperately seeking a new buyer to save it from bankruptcy.

The restaurant’s operations director Olivier Dal said that following a mountain of debt after the Covid-19 crisis, business did not pick up enough.

Disappointing figures this year have led to the decision to find a new buyer, with the latest results revealing the restaurant is some €8 million in debt.

Both the 2,000m² building and the business are up for sale. A judicial administrator will soon be appointed to oversee the procedure and look for potential buyers.

At this stage it is unclear if the upper floors can be converted into apartments, or if a buyer will come to this Brussels’ institution’s rescue and buy the restaurant space itself.

Built in 1921 in Art Nouveau style, Aux Armes de Bruxelles has been a firm favourite for more than 100 years for Brussels residents and tourists alike looking for traditional Belgian fare including shrimp and cheese croquettes, carbonnade and mussels.

Its popularity also comes from the beautiful interior, period-costumed staff and meticulous service.

Owned by the Veulemans family since its opening, after several eventful years, the restaurant first experienced bankruptcy in 2018.

The same year, Rudy Vanlancker of the equally well-known Chez Léon chain, famous for its mussels, took over the business. The staff was allowed to stay, and the establishment was renovated. But Covid meant that the restaurant ended up in trouble again.

“We were left with a large mountain of debt from that period,” said Dal. “For months we lost income because we were not allowed to receive customers. And even though the restaurant was empty, the maintenance costs continued to run.”

Afterwards, business did not improve. “Due to the increase in remote working, fewer people came to eat in the afternoon,” Dal said.

Despite being situated in a pedestrian zone, he also argued that the regional mobility plan Good Move, making parking difficult, did not help either: “We had a lot of customers who came by car, but because of the new circulation plan, we saw them cancel more and more often.”

Faced also with increasing staff and energy costs, the restaurant was forced to apply for a judicial reorganisation procedure in 2023.

After this, Dal said the business seemed to revive: “We saw the number of customers rise again. But that changed this year. Due to the disappointing turnover, we realised that things could no longer go on like this.”

Aux Armes de Bruxelles has therefore approached the Brussels commercial court to initiate a transfer procedure under judicial supervision.

About 40 people work in the restaurant. “One of the conditions [of the transfer] is that the new buyer continues to employ them,” Dal added. “Although we realise that this may have a deterrent effect on potentially interested parties.”

As it stands, the famous restaurant will remain open at least until the end of this year, with Dal adding: “Hopefully we will find a buyer by then, so that our activities can continue.”