Veerle (40) quits as a café owner after seven years: “My doctor actually advised me a year ago to look for another job”

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At the end of this month, Veerle Verleye (40) will permanently close the door of Café Tonneke in Machelen (Zulte). She has run the village café for seven years, but now the business is up for sale. There is no buyer yet. “I will especially miss the ambiance with the customers,” says Veerle, who is exchanging café life for a new job.

Veerle took over café Tonneke at the beginning of 2017, together with her then partner. “It was actually his dream to run a café,” says Veerle. “I have been working in the catering industry since I was 15 years old, but always as a side job or as a flexi-job. It was a big step to fully commit to the café, but I certainly didn’t regret it.”

“When my ex and I broke up in 2019, I continued alone with Tonneke. I wanted to persevere and show that they won’t let me down. With the necessary flexi-jobs, I was able to make my plan. I was used to running a café full-time and I love the contact with the customers.”

“Sugar traps due to stress”

“Although I have noticed a change since the corona crisis. People still pay more attention to their money than before. The conversations at the bar are often about how expensive life has become. A visit to a café is often the first thing people skip, preferring that to a meal at a restaurant or their summer holiday.”

“I am also struggling with my health. My back hurts and I have diabetes, even though I don’t have diabetes. According to the doctor, it is due to the stress and the irregular hours. He actually advised me a year ago to look for another job, but I still wanted to continue.”

Billiards cafe

“Until I recently received a nice job offer. I thought about it a lot, but I couldn’t pass it up. I accepted it and have now been combining my new job with Tonneke for over a month. That’s quite hectic and the moving stress is gradually starting to set in. Normally I stay open until the end of May, then it’s over. I have already reported the news to the regular customers and most of them understood. Tonneke is also a billiards café, we have eight permanent teams here. They have now had to find another home or have unfortunately ceased to exist.”

“I will miss it, especially the ambiance with the customers. It’s always fun when the billiards players go on until 4 o’clock. The part I won’t miss is that I have to get back up at 7am to reopen the cafe. I do hope that Tonneke will still be taken over. The building is now for sale so its future is uncertain. It would be a shame if a café disappeared in the village.”