Customers raise money after Knokke-Heist beach bar loses its permit: “Overwhelmed by the support”

Customers of a century-old beach bar in Knokke-Heist have started a fundraiser after the business lost its permit. More than 5,000 euros has already been collected to help operators Sammy and Emmy take their case to Belgium’s Council of State.

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There were, in my opinion, serious errors in the procedure.

The Albertstrand bar is among six operators that lost permits for the 2027-2035 period. Some newcomers, including entrepreneur Marc Coucke, will take over sites after an independent jury awarded the new concessions using several criteria. Operators who lost their permits are considering legal action, and Albertstrand plans to join them.

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We were not asking for it, but we are overwhelmed by all the support.

Emmy said she believed serious errors had been made in the procedure. Customers showed their support over the weekend on the beach and by telephone. Some brought flowers or drawings, while others brought so much food that, she said, she had never seen her refrigerator so full.

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It remains our life’s work, our family story, erased with one stroke of the pen. By a jury that nobody knows, let alone one that has ever been to our beach.

The operators said they had not asked customers to raise money, but felt overwhelmed by the response. Emmy described the decision as the loss of the family’s life work and story, saying it had been erased by an unfamiliar jury that had never visited their beach. Despite the support, she said the news had not yet fully sunk in. “The atmosphere at Albertstrand feels as if someone has died,” she said.

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The atmosphere at Albertstrand feels as if someone has died.