It was Wim Devolder and Jelva Beyers from Haarpaleis who came up with the idea of inviting the entire neighborhood. On Friday, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., they will organize an after-work party in their business at Grotesteenweg 26 with drinks, good food and… tattoos.
“Joachim from Harbor City Tattoo, our regular tattoo artist who celebrated his fifteenth anniversary last year, is coming to do tattoos,” says Wim. “We fear whether someone will have the logo of our business immortalized. It will most likely be small works that he will post. Part of the proceeds goes to TEJO, which is an organization that offers accessible, therapeutic assistance to young people between 10 and 20 years old.”
“We wanted to connect a good cause to our birthday,” Wim continues. “And preferably an organization that is not swimming in government subsidies and works mainly with volunteers. Since we have many youth and social workers among our clients, the choice was quickly made. We also have two teenagers at home, who knows, maybe one day they will also need to have a conversation.”
Fixed value
Those who prefer to keep their skin virgin can also simply enjoy a snack and a drink. “Mieke van De Vos & Marie provide the burgers,” Wim says. “Feel free to name them the best in town. These can be purchased at a reasonable price. The wine comes from the Antwerp wine shop Porta Vinum, the Cabardouche brewery provides the beers. Here too, the proceeds go to TEJO.”
Don’t let the fact that she is frying hamburgers stop you from giving Mieke Dockx three kisses. She is also blowing out fifteen candles with her business De Vos & Marie, which has changed its name and concept several times but is and remains a permanent fixture in the Boomgaardstraat. “I didn’t immediately plan to organize a party,” she says, “but when Wim asked to participate, I jumped on the bandwagon. The entire neighborhood is welcome to come and celebrate.”
“We are happy to be able to thank our customers with a party,” says Wim. Mieke was also happy to jump on the bandwagon. — © Jan Van der Perre
By the way, Mieke’s business is going well. What once started as restaurant Marie, and after ten years became caterer Pastificio Marie, now focuses mainly on sandwiches under the name De Vos & Marie. “We have many customers in the WATT tower, just around the corner,” says Mieke. “And our hamburgers – a novelty – are also doing well. In the meantime, we have been trying to take care of people and provide a pleasant atmosphere for fifteen years.”
Stubborn
They have not been idle at Haarpaleis in recent years. “In 2020, just before the corona crisis, in addition to our hair salon, we also started STUV, an interior design business. We mainly sell sustainable items. With us you can kill two birds with one stone: we make both your hair and your interior more beautiful,” laughs Wim. “You can also call our hair salon homely. We are somewhat stubborn in everything we do.”
So you can come and celebrate two birthdays on Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. “We are completely converting our hair salon into a party location,” says Wim. “I have the feeling that we will have some people over. And the weather will be good, that’s a good thing. We are happy to thank our customers with a party. And if the proceeds from everything we drink also goes to a good cause, then everything is fine.”
Tags: Haarpaleis Vos Marie celebrate fifteenth anniversary neighborhood tattoos charity Berchem
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