With the Beci team, we laced up our trainers (and made sure the coffee was strong) to explore behind the scenes at the Early Morning Market of Brussels. Welcome to Mabru, where everything starts at midnight.
Before Brussels wakes up, there’s Mabru. Here, the clock seems to run differently: people have already been working for hours, in an atmosphere that is both calm and intense. Trucks pass each other, trolleys move around and fresh produce changes hands. It's barely 5.30 am when the Beci team sets foot on the still damp cobbles of the capital's biggest morning market.
Brussels before dawn
Spread over 14 hectares in the north of Brussels (and just 4 km from the city centre), around 130 businesses are busy every night. Fruit, vegetables, meat, flowers, seafood, game — everything passes through here. Between 8,000 and 10,000 tonnes of goods move through the market’s five halls and two cash & carries each week, open to both professionals and private individuals... as long as you get up very early.
Every month, more than 23,000 visitors walk the aisles, searching for the right product at the right time. Regular customers include the catering industry, grocery stores, florists… and sometimes even the Royal Palace. Here, purchases are made by the basket, tray or pallet. Old habits die hard: even when there were talks of changing opening hours, the shopkeepers preferred to keep them as they are.
No waste, just taste
At Mabru, nothing goes to waste. Every day, up to two tonnes of unsold goods are sorted and redistributed to charities through the Bourse aux dons. Waste, plastics, pallets and cardboard are collected by recycling companies. The roof of the site is covered with thousands of solar panels, and combustion engine vehicles are no longer allowed inside the halls.
Although the site is part of Brussels' history, having been owned by the municipality until 1992, it is now managed by an NPO, the only one of its kind to operate without the slightest subsidy. Today, the Early Morning Market runs six days a week, from Monday to Saturday. Every Sunday, a flea market takes over the site, reminding us that Brussels never sleeps.
Beci regularly visits its members to discover their activities and better understand their needs! Read also: Brussels Airport: the quiet giant that lifts Brussels off the ground