Expert coffee duo branch out into the capital

The brainchild of school chums Loïc Installe and Charly Meerbergen, Belga & Co has serviced the port city and its environs with a specially curated selection of blends since early last year. “I was already working in start-ups and we finally decided we wanted to do our own thing,” Meerbergen says.

Coffee was a natural choice for at least one of the partners. Installe, born into a coffee-importing dynasty that stretches back four generations, was already an expert in the subject. Meerbergen, though, didn’t even drink the stuff.

“All that’s changed now,” he says, laughing. “But it’s true. Before we went into business, I never really drank coffee. What had always attracted me was the social atmosphere around the drink.”

After a crash course in coffee theory and the eventual success of their subscription service, the two entrepreneurs duly set about recreating said atmosphere with their very own storefront. And it had to be in Brussels.

“Antwerp is already well served by so many great cafes,” Meerbergen says. “It’s the coffee capital of Belgium. Brussels, on the other hand, is an untapped market. Brussels needs more coffee.”

They couldn’t have found a better spot. Meerbergen and Installe landed some prime real estate on the trendy Baillistraat, a stone’s throw from Louizalaan. The space was formerly a men’s clothing store and was restored to its former glory for Belga & Co.

Original architectural details, including a majestic ceiling, were brought out of hiding and restored. Charming wood furniture, some of it custom-built, was brought in to complement the original wood floor. The design combines contemporary geometry in the main room with country comfort in the living-room nook and rear garden.

Belga’s growing core of regular customers seem to love both the product and the setting.