Flanders today SEPTEMBER 26, 20 1 2
Erkenningsnummer P708816
#249
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news
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f ree n ews w eek ly
business
September Declaration Social welfare and culture funding are safe in the Flemish government’s annual budget 4
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w w w. f l a n d erst o d ay. e u
science & education
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tourism
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arts
Eat your caterpillars
This yearning in me
The Night of the Researchers brings the latest findings in science, health and tech out of the lab 6
Gaasbeek Castle’s new exhibition of work represents the German notion of sehnsucht 13
Business after dark
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agenda
© Julie van Schooten
Night shops have seen a major boom during the past decade, but not without making some enemies Toon Lambrechts
There’s no need to panic if you need a jar of jam at midnight or the beer at your party runs low. The night shop is never far away. It’s convenient, but not everyone is equally keen on these all-night stores
T
he sun has set, when suddenly the doorbell rings. Unexpected visitors. Fun! But … there isn’t a drop of liquor in the house, and serving your adult visitors fruit juice isn’t exactly stylish. Just pass by the night shop around the corner, and the evening is saved. Our pace of life has changed dramatically. Nine-to-five jobs have become an exception, and nightlife in Flemish cities,
particularly student cities, has become incredibly lively – not to mention long. The concept of a night shop fits perfectly into this picture. You usually don’t have to walk very far if you run out of cigarettes in the evening, certainly not in a city. But even most villages have their night shops. Behind the counter, almost without exception, is a shopkeeper from Southern Asia. Night shops in Flanders are a recent phenomenon. The first of them popped up in the mid-1990s; before that, you just had to wait until morning if you needed anything. Since the first night shops opened, their numbers have increased
dramatically. Their exact number is unknown, however, because night shops are registered simply as food stores, just like the corner fruit and veg. The last detailed census, conducted by the consultancy firm Food in Mind, estimated their number at 2,500, representing approximately 4,000 jobs. A further surge in the number of night shops is not expected because the market is more than saturated. In some cities, their numbers are in fact decreasing slightly, partly the result of more strict policies and partly because city councils have begun to target the night shops for closure. The Shanti night shop stands on Ghent’s Burgstraat in the ``continued on page 3