Well-known butcher shop and catering service wants to restart after bankruptcy

A major surprise for many: Ateljee 94, the well-known butcher’s shop, caterer and delicatessen shop of the Tormans-Cox family from Oudsbergen, was declared bankrupt last week. The verdict also came as a surprise to the entrepreneurs themselves. However, after a few days of reflection and consultation with the curator, the team is determined to make a new start.

Ateljee 94 is a traditional butcher’s shop that is known in the wider area for a variety of high-quality meats, prepared dishes and other food products. The family business also provides catering for parties and events throughout Limburg. There is no shortage of customers. The store is always busy, and the agenda is fully booked for catering activities.

“Indeed, we have our hands more than full,” confirms manager Frank Tormans. “We absolutely cannot complain about the number of satisfied customers who highly appreciate our craftsmanship. Yet things are not always easy behind the scenes. The negative spiral started during the corona period. All events were cancelled, causing our catering activities to come to a complete standstill. The delivery of sandwiches and meals to companies was also reduced to zero. We received far fewer people in the store because everyone had to work from home. And just at that moment we had invested a lot in a completely new store with fully equipped workshops, new materials and extra people. In addition, raw material prices rose sharply and energy prices became almost unaffordable, making it even more difficult to balance the bill. A bitter pill to swallow. Today we are still dealing with the aftereffects of that dark period. We are slowly climbing out of the valley, but it remains difficult to find the balance between the very high quality we strive for and charging acceptable prices. That combination has always been our strength.”

Ateljee 94 was busy steering the business in the right direction until the news of bankruptcy arrived. “We didn’t expect that ourselves. Apparently we missed some letters from the court, which caused the business to be declared bankrupt last week. It should not have gotten to this point, because the ‘rescue operation’ was in full swing. Yet we must accept the verdict and see how we can proceed.”

The Tormans-Cox family has now sat down with the curator to look for a solution. “We are not going to oppose the ruling, but we want to continue our life’s work regardless. The most feasible option is for us to restart the company together with the children. We have the drive and ambition to emerge from this stronger and soon be able to serve our customers again with the quality products they are used to from us.”