New Food Hall Inaugurated at Belle Etoile

The new food hall G.A.N.G. inauguration took place on the evening of Wednesday 13 September 2023, at the Belle Etoile shopping centre in Bertrange.

The venue was busy, with a number of Luxembourg officials in attendance, such as Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, the Minister of Finance, Yuriko Backes, the Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Lex Delles, and Corinne Cahen, Alderwoman of the City of Luxembourg, among others.

It took Stéphanie Jauquet and Salvatore Barberio, two restaurateur friends, over two years of work “courage and dedication” to finalise this project, as Laurent Schonckert, Director of Cactus, emphasised. Monique Smit-Thijs, the Mayor of Bertrange, wished them luck on their venture, adding that she was proud and happy to have this new food hall available to citizens in her municipality. Prime Minister Bettel praised the finalisation of their project, noting that it made it through a “difficult time” and that it required an unblocking of funds at the time to be able to make it possible.

Discussing the food hall’s name, Stéphanie Jauquet noted that G.A.N.G. stands for generosity (générosité), love (amour), food (nourriture) and taste (goût) and that it also means “friendly gathering,” which is the basis of her joined project with Salvatore Barberio. She added that with all its difficulties and delays, the project would not have gone ahead without the help and friendship of their “gang” working with them and without the support from Luxembourg’s government.

G.A.N.G. is extensive: there are two restaurants with Grand Café and Specto, a bar with Um Plateau, one food court with to which is added a shared food court with eight corners of different cuisines and drinks. The shared sitting area is able to accommodate 500 people. The food court spans over 1800 m2.

Stéphanie Jauquet, of Belgian origin, has lived in Luxembourg for over 25 years and manages several establishments in the Grand Duchy: restaurants Um Plateau, the national brand Cocottes and La Baraque – Friterie.  Stéphanie Jauquet said: “One does not develop such a project solely for the commercial success but also to enjoy it, have fun and make sure our customers have a wonderful time with us.”

A French national, living in Luxembourg for many years, and having been friends with Stéphanie Jauquet for 20 years, Salvatore Barberio founded his first restaurant over 20 years ago with his brother and two sisters. Salvatore specialises in strategy and development. He is at the head of three RedBeef restaurants located in France as well as the Grand Café in Place d’Armes in Luxembourg-Ville, which he presents as a “project of the heart”. Salvatore Barberio added: “We chose the name G.A.N.G. because it refers to the bonds of friendship that unite us, to the grouping of different concepts as well as the closeness of our teams whose know-how and dynamism we wish to highlight”.

The food hall already has a few events planned for September, notably the Back to School cocktail and snacks evening at the bar Um Plateau on Saturday 16 September 2023, the Oktoberfest event at GANG BEER on Wednesday 20 September 2023 and the End of season dance party at the Bar Um Plateau on Friday 29 September 2023.