Hanan and Touba (from left) are well attuned to each other and have worked together before. Now in their own bar. — © Margot De Clercq
Hanan and Touba open their bar together with cocktails, snacks and wine. Their love for catering grew in restaurant De Peerdestal and the desire for entrepreneurship seeped into their heads at the same time. The sisters complement each other beautifully and are ready to join forces.
The blue chairs, red awning and red parasol catch the eye at Marnixplaats 7. The new Giraffe bar opens its doors on Friday, April 26. “We are going to experience everything quietly, but for the time being we will open every day from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m.,” says Hanan El Bastani (32).
She jumps into this adventure together with her sister Touba (27). Last month they transformed this building into an attractive bar with cocktails, wine and snacks.
The colorful front immediately catches the eye. — © Margot De Clercq
“These are not large meals, but tasty dishes to share together. When you are enjoying yourself on a terrace, you often don’t really want to go to a restaurant anymore. So we want to satisfy customers’ hunger with something more than just cheese.”
Different dream
The two sisters independently had the same dream. “I had just graduated in Marketing and didn’t know what I was going to do with my degree,” says Touba. “Almost our entire family worked as students in De Peerdestal restaurant. I started working there full-time during that uncertain period.”
Both Hanan and Touba’s love for catering has grown there. Hanan worked as a graphic designer at the VRT.
At the same time, the sisters dreamed of another job and their own bar. — © Margot De Clercq
“I wasn’t going to do this job all my life. It didn’t appeal to me: staring at a screen for hours at a desk every day. I wanted something more active and told our eldest brother that he was itching to open his own bar. He replied: ‘Talk to each other, your sister has the same idea’,” Hanan laughs.
Full house
“During the soft opening there were already at least a hundred men. It was fun to see what it would be like here on a busy weekend day. And we immediately ran out of cava.”
They really like it: a full terrace enjoying the last golden glow of the sun. “We are very compatible and have complementary characters. We worked together in De Peerdestal and during the lockdown we did things together contact tracing. We said then that it would be nice to really work together.”
The sisters share the same style and renovated the beautiful, atmospheric bar together. — © Margot De Clercq
With the bar snacks they want to offer more than just a cheese. — © Margot De Clercq
Tags: Sisters Hanan Touba open bar Giraffe Marnixplaats Antwerp
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