The first Burger King of Wallonia, located in the Rive Gauche in Charleroi shopping centre, was inaugurated on Monday noon before its official opening scheduled for Tuesday at 10:00. The chain, like Quick, is managed in Belgium by Burger Brands Belgium. The 750 m² restaurant has eight digital terminals and 263 seats, which are spread out over two floors. A total of 55 employees and a dozen students, mainly from the region, are employed there.
Burger King, which targets a younger clientele than Quick, will develop in a certain way to accommodate Belgian clients and will work with other companies from the country as far as possible, assures Kevin Derycke, CEO of Burger Brands Belgium.
The brand intends to open seven restaurants in Belgium and Luxembourg by the end of 2017 and "40 to 50 in the next five to six years". The next restaurant is expected in Namur at the end of August and Brussels will have at least one by the end of the year, according to the CEO, who intends to create between 300 and 350 jobs by the end of 2017. Today, Quick (91) and Burger King (2) employ more than 3,250 people in Belgium.
Kevin Derycke also described the opening of the Kingdom's first Burger King on 28 June in Antwerp. "In just a few days, more than 10,000 Whoppers (the flagship product of the brand, editor's note) were sold. By comparison, Quick sells 10 million Giants in one year through all of its 90 restaurants in Belgium."
Mystery had long surrounded the arrival of the brand in Belgium. The Bertrand Group, which bought Quick in 2015, sold the restaurants in Belgium and Luxembourg a year later to concentrate on the French market. In September 2016, the QSR Belgium group bought the Quick restaurants from both countries as well as the Burger King master franchise for Belgium and Luxembourg. Quick Restaurant became Burger Brands Belgium at the same time.
The Brussels Times
