Bye bye Takeoff

We knew that this day may come, but we didn’t know when. It was only 5 years that we managed Bar Takeoff, but enough to get attached to the vibes of this cozy place in the student neighborhood in Antwerp.

To be honest, in 2017 I didn’t have enough experience as a Restaurant Manager and Barista. But there I was next to my dear colleague Nikki at that time, with the best energy and all the passion, learning and working hard every day from Monday to Friday to build up, step by step, what we have achieved till today with Bar Takeoff.

Nikki & Anabel in 2017

The students, oh, the students… We definitely will miss them a lot, especially those that worked with us behind the bar. There were so many mornings and afternoons that we had so much fun working together, and even when they had little experience in Horeca, we learned so much from them… we also got attached to them!

And the students as clients, of course, how to forget. We even remember names such as Laura and Roselyn, that during their academic period in the University of Antwerp or the AP Antwerpen, they went almost everyday for their regular Americano or Latte. And even when the American students were there for just 3 months, some of them asked us for our Iced Latte formula so they could make them at their home in the USA.

Bar Takeoff in 2019, after Barbara Standaert's renovations

Yeah, a lot of cool memories working at Bar Takeoff, specially from the hundreds of events that we organized and catered there. I’m so happy that we could establish the Christmas Start Up, a very cozy Christmas market with students selling their original products. I really hope that Bar Takeoff and STAN Antwerpen continue with this lovely tradition that we started.

I will also miss this place to organize events for the benefit of my country, Venezuela, like Fiesta de la Arepa, that we celebrated together with Arepa Culture in October of 2019, just before that year that froze all of us. But even when Bar Takeoff was closed to the public, there was still LIFE inside. I went there every 2 weeks during the quarantine to water the beautiful green beings that also grew with us in Takeoff.

Fiesta de la Arepa in 2019, one of the best events we hosted at Bar Takeoff

We will always be grateful to Gate 15 and the City of Antwerp for trusting us during this half decade that Verde Foodbar managed Bar Takeoff. Now is the time for us to continue growing and doing what we love the most: prepare tasty food and serve it to happy people.

Anabel Borges

Barista & Marketer

Verde Foodbar