Help Restaurant Trópicos

Hallo ik ben Thomas, hedendaagse uitbater van Restaurant Trópicos. De reden voor deze fundraiser is om de heropbouw van mijn Restaurant te financieren.

Restaurant Trópicos is door mijn ouders opgestart in 1987 en is sindsdien een vaste waarde in Antwerpen geweest.

Met de combinatie van de Braziliaanse en Mexicaanse keuken zijn we nog steeds de eerste en enige in Antwerpen al 34 jaar lang. Onze chef werkt hier al 33 jaar en sommige werknemers die uit dienst hebben moeten zetten wegens Covid werkten er ook langer dan ik leef.

Tijdens de lockdown hebben wij (en de rest van de wereld) een financieel moeilijke periode gehad met rekeningen die bleven binnenkomen zonder inkomsten. Door onze eigen takeaway service op te starten: www.tropicostakeaway.be kregen we hoop om onze vaste kosten de verlichten, maar sinds de heropening van de horeca hebben we alleen maar gewerkt om onze schulden in te halen.

Nu is mijn doel om genoeg geld te verdienen en hopelijk met uw hulp in te zamelen om onze zaak weer een nieuw leven tot de glorie van het pre-Covid leven in te blazen.

Hi I'm Thomas, current owner of Restaurant Trópicos.

The reason for this fundraiser is to save my parents' restaurant that has existed in Antwerp since 1987. 

My parents started Restaurant Trópicos before I was born and for 34 years it has been a fixed value in our city in Belgium.

It's a combination of Brazilian and Mexican food, very traditional and unique in its own way. Our chef has been with us for 33 years and some of the staff whom we've had to let go worked there longer than I've lived. 

It truly felt like a family falling apart.

During the lockdown period we fell on hard times with bills piling up and barely any income. I started a takeaway service via a website I created with a friend: www.tropicostakeaway.be in order to have some income and a little hope for running a hospitality business during a lockdown while avoiding paying over 30% commision to services like Deliveroo and UberEats. But after being open to eat in again for a bit over half a year we're working to pay the bills, eventhough we have many regulars and are mostly fully booked in the weekends. 

Belgium is a tough country for an independent business owner and eventhough we are the highest taxed country in Europe we normally managed to make some profit, but with a lot of catching up to do due to Covid it's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I would be eternally grateful if I could continue my parents' legacy and save the business, but I'm afraid it's going to be a long and tough road without a little help, so I hope whoever reads this can find a way to help us out and save a place that has spread so much joy and good vibes.

All the best