A song has transformed the fortunes of a Saint-Gilles pizzeria after it went viral on Tiktok.
Located on Avenue Fonsny, next to the Brussels-Midi station, Pizzeria Nizar has previously struggled to attract diners. Its chef Sifeddine admits to occasionally serving a single customer during an entire shift.
To boost local visibility, operator Sifeddine, 39, launched a TikTok account. He explained to Sudinfo that he collaborated with a friend named Sofiane to record a short, simple, but catchy track celebrating his dedication to the pizza-making trade.
Using a mix of French and Arabic, the song celebrates the quality and freshness of the restaurant's food: "Pizza Nizar, Saint-Gilles, marhaba bikoum/C'est le vrai goût, la meilleure pizza wallah/Ingrédients frais, dégustez le bonheur/Chez Nizar, on cuisine avec le cœur."
The upbeat song saturated the video-sharing platform by late June, following the release of a remix by user DJ Gros Paf.
Sudden internet fame overwhelmed Sifeddine. Flooded with thousands of notifications, he panicked and deleted his original post, temporarily changing the restaurant’s online handle to escape the digital spotlight.
But online audiences had already memorised the tune. Returning from his summer holiday, Sifeddine discovered his modest pizza place had changed dramatically. Content creators continuously arrived to order food, shoot videos, and request selfies with the proprietor.
"I started crying," he told Sudinfo, recalling the impact of the daily crowds.
Tourists now reportedly travel long distances just to eat in the Brussels pizzeria. Customers travel from Antwerp, Reims, Marseille, and Paris, and Sifeddine claims he has received calls from Canada, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Algeria. Some callers sing the song's lyrics down the phone, while others simply want to wish the staff good luck.
One dedicated mother apparently endured a cross-border bus journey from Paris just to buy her son a slice of pizza.
Sifeddine is enthusiastic about his new customer base. "I sing for everyone, even over the phone," he told Sudinfo.
Even Belgian postal service Bpost tried to capitalise on the hype, including the song in an official company clip.
On Google Maps, Pizza Nizzar has a positive rating of 4.7 stars with many commenters saying that they came for the song, but stayed for the pizza.
Despite intense pressure to expand his operations, for now Sifeddine has pledged to dedicate all his resources into improving his current establishment and the neighbourhood around Brussels-Midi station.
