New Places to be

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15 January 2026 On 1 December 2016

Award for "Best Coffee Bar"

Thursday afternoon, around 4 PM: my colleague and I have just finished a busy afternoon rush. The cold weather easily leads people inside, and the smell of coffee beans and cookies also does its job. The phone rings (for the thousandth time that day) and I walk from the kitchen (with my hands full of avocado and pesto) to the agenda... I open it to the weekend days, expecting to have to note a reservation for breakfast. Surprisingly, no reservation, but a call from our colleagues at newplacestobe.com. A wonderful website where you can find the nicest places and their information from all over Flanders and Brussels. Since November, there was an award to be won for "Best Coffee Bar in Flanders and Brussels". Knowing that this competition was running, I did not expect to win it, since the competition is fierce in number... and there were some much larger players participating with a much larger network.

Yes, my knowledge regarding social media still needs to be greatly fine-tuned... (I'm not even sure if I want to...) but still, during that phone call, we were told: "Charlotte, you've won!" The jury has decided that you have the best coffee, atmosphere and concept. ... There is a moment of silence... To be honest, I didn't realize it at all. The thought that mainly haunted my head was that the panini urgently needed to come out of the grill, but I didn't want to come across as rude on the phone. Of course I was and am incredibly happy, but it didn't sink in. That day I was asked to keep it quiet since the press would only announce it the next day. Keeping quiet wasn't difficult, since I'm not too active on social media channels. I did call 'Our Mother' - that's also her nickname with our regulars - when I was in the car on the way home... she seemed to realize it more than myself and was already going to celebrate with a glass.

That glass of prosecco will come later! The next day I wake up with a very pleasant feeling, still not nervous, but happy that I have already partially achieved what I wanted with the business: letting a large number of people enjoy a delicious cup of gold with a cozy and relaxing atmosphere. I was already present in the business at 6 AM and from 7 AM it was already quite full... a small breakfast before work, most thought. As soon as the opening hour started (7:30 AM), the phone was red-hot from all the press. The nerves had risen slightly. How could it be that a small picturesque business, of which the facade is only 4-5 meters, with an even smaller woman, received attention from all the important social channels? Vtm, gva, nina, hln, atv, nieuwsblad, knack, knack weekend, knack culinary.. They were there as media-hungry chickens so quickly! I didn't know where to start telling because there is sooo much to tell about your own business... The creation of your own business is a process of yearrrrs of experiences, impressions, setbacks and getting back up. One of the journalists asked me how I was going to celebrate this: I was a bit taken aback: "celebrate" oh yeah right, that should indeed also maybe happen, but first get through a good weekend with good service for our customers.

Meanwhile that day I also had to work super hard in the business itself. It was packed, was this perhaps due to some press releases? I didn't want to let my colleague down, so I tried to answer all the interviews as quickly as possible, but the combination is of course not ideal. What struck me is that all the employees of these media channels were incredibly friendly! I was a bit scared of this, but it was really a pleasant (and tiring) experience. At the end of the day, my colleague and I were exhausted, and also a bit nervous to watch the news report. Since I only finished working around 7:15 PM, I had put on the live broadcast of the VTM news on my phone in the car, and as soon as I knew it was about the business, I could park the car for a moment. 2 minutes before I arrived home, I was standing there, in a parking lot in Kasterlee, watching my own little business on the VTM news! Wow... this is really strange. 900,000 people watch this news program on Friday evening, and who knows, someone might remember this and come for a visit. Disbelief.... was the right word to describe my feelings. When I got home, I told my sweetheart: "honey, I've been on TV!" and our Friday went on like every week: fries from the chip shop. Life goes on, just like always, but still with that little bit more tension in your body.

"Charlotte, you've won!"

This weekend was a wonderful combination of our dear regulars, and new customers. It does make you think when people come all the way from Hasselt and Herentals to drink a coffee or have a nice lunch in your little business... it remains a bit unbelievable! This makes me extremely happy, and that's really why I do it. My regular customers are sooo important to me and always deserve a place in Charlie's. It is also a great honor to have people from all over Belgium visit, people of all ages, from the youngest who like to secretly "borrow" an orange or a cookie in the kitchen to the oldest who can barely get over the two steps at the entrance to still taste that cup of gold... wonderful how I can let them enjoy... THAT is the concept of Charlie's, not only a high-quality coffee or meal, but the combination with escaping all your worries for a while....

I am already curious what this week will bring! I hope to convince many new customers of the pleasure, as well as to continue to please the regular customers with their habits.

Finally, I want to conclude this short story with an intro to the next story: within a few months there will be big news for Charlie's... this in function for you and for our team... I already find it mega exciting and promise to inform you of all the details in my next story!

Thank you everyone for this wonderful week and your enormous support!