LaM.U is foodies’ new haven in Charleroi
If you were to cross Eataly with Denver’s Wynkoop brewery you will get – at least conceptually – LaM.U, La Manufacture Urbaine, a café-restaurant with a brewery, bakery and coffee roaster, which opened its doors in the Belgian city of Charleroi, south of Brussels, last year.
From Eataly, a global chain of high-end Italian supermarkets cum food courts, LaM.U took the conviction that people increasingly seek locally sourced, sustainable foods and from Wynkoop, Colorado’s first brewpub, the business concept that renovating an old building in a neglected part of downtown and turning it into a gastronomic hub can invigorate the whole neighbourhood.
Most will have heard of Charleroi only because it has an airport which low cost carriers call Brussels, although the Belgian capital is in fact 50 km away. The city of half a million people had been struggling for most of the second half of the 20th century, following the decline in heavy industries. It got a new lease on life in recent years although unemployment still runs high.
Together with his French partner, Jurgen Dewijn developed the concept of La Manufacture Urbaine because he wanted to combine traditional urban crafts (the brewer, the baker, the coffee roaster) under one roof and showcase local foods, while creating a meeting place for the cultural entrepreneuriat. In keeping with the urban approach, LaM.U also has a small store for local and regional foods and self-distributes its produce.
Converting an old building into LaMa.U, which stretches across three floors, cost EUR nine million, Mr Dewijn said. Ten months after opening it seems to have been well received by locals as the brewery, the city’s first craft brewery, already produces 60 hl beer per week for on-site consumption and local bars.
To quote the singer Frank Zappa: “You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline.” At least Charleroi has an airport and now a brewery too.
