Matteo (32) opens a ‘botanical’ cocktail bar in Ledeberg. — © De Gentenaar
GENT –
Want to spend a day driving around Dubai in a Rolls-Royce? Thanks to Matteo Longo (32), it is possible. De Ghent resident rents luxury cars remotely. Because he still had some time left, he opened his own cocktail bar in Ledeberg. “The pornstar martini sells crazy right away,” he says.
“I’m a materialist,” says Matteo Longo, laughing. “That’s why I fell in love with Dubai years ago. You won’t find any culture there, just bling bling.” Longo grew up in Mariakerke, just like his brother who moved to Dubai a few years ago.
When Longo went to visit him, he lost his heart. “I stuck around,” says the Ghent resident. “I lived there in total for just under a year.” After borrowing about twenty cars himself, he started renting out luxury cars through the same company, Renty. Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari, … the range is as wide as the Emirati’s portfolio.
Longo returned to Ghent, but continued to rent out the cars remotely. He will soon also start with luxury real estate in Dubai, but that was still not enough. “I’ve been dreaming of my own bar for years. I looked into taking over the dog café on the ring, but that turned out to be too big an investment. The renovation alone cost more than 100,000 euros.” (Read more below the photo)
A pornstar martini from Bar Botanica — © JID
This is how the entrepreneur ended up on the Brusselsesteenweg in Ledeberg. His father had kept café The New Minty open there for ten years. Longo completely stripped it, painted the walls moss green and hung plants from the ceiling. “When you come in here, you don’t have the feeling that you are in Ledeberg,” he says proudly about his Bar Botanica. “I really went for the wow effect.”
The menu includes classic cocktails such as a pornstar martini, a cosmopolitan and a tequila sunrise. For those with a small appetite, there are boards with Italian specialties, bruschetta and croque monsieur. Occasionally there will be a lasagna evening or mussels à volonté. “The first floor can be rented for a party,” says Longo. “There is a separate bar and there will be Chesterfields.” The bling bling from Dubai shines through.
INFO: Bar Botanica, Brusselsesteenweg 412, 9050 Ghent. Open from Tuesday to Sunday, always from 12 noon.
2024-04-09 16:11:39
#Dubai #rents #Lamborghinis #Ferraris #Ghent #Matteo #opens #botanical #cocktail #bar
