In the heart of Schaerbeek near Place Meiser is a treasure trove of Middle Eastern fare. Great Market is a unique Mediterranean supermarket that is immensely popular among the commune’s residents for its fresh produce, artisanal cooking and incredible range of goods from across the Middle East.
Its name was a bold choice by the owners, but fortunately, the store more than lives up to its billing. What started as a modest Syrian épicerie on Chaussée de Louvain has grown into one of Brussels’ best-loved culinary landmarks.
Customer at the olives and feta stand. Credit: Kosmos Khoroshavin / The Brussels Times
Going through the entrance decorated with palms, you will find yourself in a huge warehouse-style building that mixes conventional grocery shopping with dine-in options prepared in front of your eyes.
Great Market is a family business built from the ground up by Syrian immigrants. One of the owners, Grace Kriakos, told The Brussels Times how the idea to create the store came about.
“My dad and my mum came here when we were little, around the year 2000," Grace recalls. She says that her father was among the first businessmen importing Syrian products to Brussels. After opening a small grocery store in Schaerbeek, he moved the business to its current spacious location in 2018.
Grace's father died during the Covid-19 pandemic, but his wife and daughters decided to carry on with his work, taking over the business.
The Kriakos family and their friend having lunch at The Great Market of Schaerbeek. Credit: Kosmos Khoroshavin / The Brussels Times
The Mediterranean heart of Brussels
Today, you can feel Great Market’s heavy Syrian influence, but there are products from across the rest of the Mediterranean here too. Everything Italian, Spanish or Greek is easily found here, including a specialised stand where you can fill a glass bottle with olive oil of your choosing. Another counter specialises in olives and feta.
Perhaps the most mesmerising “pitstop” in the building is the bakery section. Three bakers operate a blazing wood oven at an open kitchen with clockwork precision, making lahmacun and manakish – traditional Middle Eastern flatbreads topped with minced meat, cheese or herbs.
The stand for pouring olive oil into glass bottles. Credit: Kosmos Khoroshavin / The Brussels Times
“We have the pizza here, but it’s named manakish, so we do it the Syrian way,” Grace explains. While marketed as pizza for Europeans to evoke familiarity, it is really a dish of its own. After trying a freshly baked lahmacun, The Brussels Times can certify this as a local must-try.
In the store front, the traiteur section offers a buffet-style assortment of Mediterranean delicacies, with a heavy focus on the Middle East. This section, with its appetising shawarma, falafel or tabbouleh is not for those with hungry eyes. You can have lunch here with a hot meal for about €15 or enjoy an all-you-can eat brunch.
The traiteur section of the market. Credit: Kosmos Khoroshavin / The Brussels Times
The butchers at the Great Markets offers a similar experience to many Arab-run purveyors across Belgium. Here you will find basturma or merguez alongside Belgian classics like carbonnade.
The sweetest section of the Great Market is the baklava stand. If you have never tried this flavour-bomb before, it is a gorgeous moist dessert pastry with a rich taste, made up of layered filo dough, nuts and honey or syrup. In the market, each piece is handmade by a pastry chef with 30 years of experience.
Baklava on sale at Great Market. Credit: Kosmos Khoroshavin / The Brussels Times
'Everything you need from the Middle East'
Running such a large array of dedicated stands is not easy, especially in Belgium, where labour costs are among the highest in Europe. Despite this, Grace and her family have found a financially sustainable way to employ over 30 people at the supermarket.
“The hardest part is workers, because it costs a lot,” Grace admits. But without them, she says, the place simply wouldn’t be what it is. “We really wanted to keep it all, because we think what customers need now is the link with the seller … to talk to them, to ask questions.”
This human connection is what many customers we spoke to cited as the main reason for shopping at the market.
Ronda, a Palestinian-Greek resident of Brussels, has followed the business from its early days when it still was a small shop down the street. She said that the Great Market is very accommodating and makes her feel at home.
Ronda is a regular shopper at Great Market. Credit: Kosmos Khoroshavin / The Brussels Times
"This is a fantastic place. It's really hard to find this kind of thing, even in London or Paris," Ronda says." I like that you find everything you need from the Middle East ... it makes you feel happy. It's like you have a little foot in the middle of the Arab world."
Other regular patrons like Xavier note the market’s unpretentious nature and utility. "I find nearly everything about what I need, and it's also very near my home," he tells us.
The beauty of the market seemingly lies in its ability to stay true to itself and serve the people who made it happen in the first place. Here you will often find native Belgians shopping next to immigrants nostalgic for the food from their home countries, and it all seems to work in harmony. As Grace says, “I think the Great Market brings people together."
