At the foot of our famous three towers, a little bit hidden from the crowded streets in the city center of Ghent you will find a peculiar place. BE O, short for Be Organic, is organic heaven. It’s both a fresh market and a bar where you can eat along with the seasons.

You can find me here for breakfast or lunch with a salad or a sandwich. Everything, including the drinks, is homemade. Fresh and healthy, the way I like my food. By the way, I’m eating seed bread with a soup whilst writing this blog post. Seed bread must be an invention of the gods or something.

Local and packaging-free are the keywords in this fresh market. I come here for my weekly grocery shopping. The vegetables & fruits along with everything you need to stay alive directly come from the farmers. Even the love you find here is local — the people who work here are so nice!

Besides the bar and the fresh market, there is another reason I visit this place. It has something to do with history and design. The building where BE O is housed is the former Bourdon Arcade. It was built in the beginning of the 20th century, rebuilt in the 80s & named after the jewelry company Bourdon. The old 80s logo is still on display. Most people find it ugly as hell, but it isn’t. It’s a beautiful expression of faded glory.

Today, the fresh products are the jewelry. Worth a visit!