Help Hoøk to stay open and keep on growing

As hard as it is to admit, we need your help!

We opened our HOØK in 2020, right before the pandemic. Anything happened since then and after years of struggle, we need your help to keep on being part of the vibrant Borgerhout district and grow with it, becoming the community hub that we envisioned.

Join our campaign with a donation of 10/15/30/50 or 100€ to get a special reward. Read more about the donations+rewards system down below.

Who are we?

We are Sandro and Jos. Passionate about food and people we opened our restaurant HOØK in February 2020, about three years ago.

Still remember those exciting times in late 2019 and the beginning of 2020. We found a perfect spot just across the street from our house, on the corner. The name popped up almost instantly - cross over of the Dutch word for corner and the English word hook.

We named it HOØK with a ‘streepje’ Ø. We believed we had a great concept that we wanted to share with Borgerhout and the people around us with the possibility that our neighborhood would finally get a ‘feels like home’ type of place that brings people together and at the same time serves delicious coffee, breakfast and brunch.

That's how it all started. Without a "BANG", not knowing that there was a "BANG" just around the corner waiting for us. We didn’t know **** about running a restaurant. But we learned. Fast.

The pandemic made us. Creativity was high. With every new lock down we had a new and unique idea that worked, like the "Out of the Box Breakfast", our answer to the first lockdown.

HOØK kept us together and kept us sane.

But with every prospect that came that we could open again, came the worries as well: for how long would it last? Would people come back? Would it all work again?

But we kept on going. Organizing events, inviting different chefs, opening evenings for the Aperitivo and Apericena, connecting people and ideas, because that's what we love.

Unfortunately, things never went smoothly and we had no luck on our side. Already financially exhausted, every new month brought new challenges: break-in, broken windows, smashed doors, clogged pipes, broken fridges...

Why are we raising money and how will the funds be used?

After 3 years of struggle, we need your help! We want to stay open, keep on being a part of this vibrant district and grow with it, organizing all the activities and events we planned but had to postpone, fully becoming the community hub that we envisioned.

Last summer we organized the HOØK's Midsommar BBQ and BYE BYE SUMMER Artisanal Pizza Evening. These events brought together for the first time our entire neighborhood and had such a great response that we crave for repeating both experiences this upcoming summer.

We also want to introduce new events:

We always aimed to create a deep feeling of community in our neighborhood and we have been really good at it from the very beginning. With this campaign and with your help we can continue to do so. We can grow and become a staple for Borgerhout. It had been a fight and a struggle almost from the very beginning but we are here to stay, and we mean it.

It was never about the money, it was always about the people, and we believe that you can feel that.

How can you support HOØK?

You can donate directly to this GoFundMe campaign. Any small amount means the world to us. Once our goal will be reached we will reward your trust and support according to your donation in the form of fun and out-of-the-box events and food specialties, as in our style.

Upon donation you will be asked to provide us with your preferred email address to contact you as soon as the campaign goal is reached, so that you can reclaim your reward.

You can help us also by sharing this campaign via your social or email and spreading the word to reach as many people as possible.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thanks to each and every one of you for reaching out in the past weeks.

With love and gratitude,

Sandro&Jos