Bar Marie is brand-new bar at Mechelen station, in the premises of media company Sanoma. At Bar Marie, they like things that are pure and natural. Marie is convinced the food tastes best when it’s prepared using fresh ingredients. Seasonal fruit and vegetables that she knows have been grown naturally and organically, meat from animals treated with respect, and fish that was still at the fish market that morning. Marie only serves food when she knows where it comes from.
Manager Christine Festjens: "A pleasant, inspiring place that you can go to throughout the day for a healthy bite to eat made mainly of fruit and vegetables – that’s what Bar Marie is. You can pop in for a delicious breakfast with a fresh smoothie or buy a little pot of fruit to get you through the working day. If you want a quick, healthy lunch you can order a salad at Bar Marie or enjoy a slice of delicious fruit tart for afternoon tea, and you can end the day with a sociable aperitif among colleagues and friends." The menu at Bar Marie is deliberately limited and includes freshly prepared salads and sandwiches, a quiche and soup of the day, a breakfast basket and a selection of fruit and regional desserts. The wine is supplied by Belgian winegrowers at home and abroad, while the juices and fruit drinks are from the famous Alain Milliat range and the coffees and teas all have an international, exclusive touch.
Bar Marie was created by the well-known Hasselt design firm Creneau International. It’s a bar with the same aim as the magazines that Sanoma publishes: telling stories, inspiring and informing, that was the idea with which the designers settled down behind their desks a few months ago. Christine Festjens: "Bar Marie has its own identity. There is a link with the media that Sanoma manages, that’s true, but this is certainly no traditional media café. We inspire women every day with our various brands, and we deliberately opted to work this into the concept creatively. Bar Marie is intended as a 3D reproduction of a magazine”. Designer Maarten Groven: “We reflected this by dividing the space into various areas, so-called sections. For instance, there is a ‘gossip lounge’ where people can share secrets with one another tête-à-tête, a ‘greenhouse’ with vegetables and plants, a ‘home’ area where you can sink into a comfortable seat or armchair, a ‘meet & greet’ area where you can gather round a long table and a ‘DIY’ area where you feel as if you’re sitting in a chair at your grandma’s."
Bar Marie opened on Monday, 23 September. All the dishes and drinks can also be taken away. From 4 November, Bar Marie will have a meeting room equipped with the necessary facilities.
Bar Marie is a creation of the Extensions & Related Products department at Sanoma.
Contact:
Sofie Deleu
Tel.: +32 15 678 480 - Mobile: +32 472 902 920
Bar Marie
Stationsstraat 55, 2800 Mechelen
Tel.: 015/ 67 98 01
Opening hours: Mon – Wed 7.30 am to 6.00 pm, Thurs – Fri 7.30 am to 7.30 pm. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.