Landmark E17 motorway stop must close to make way for new service stations

Anyone who drives on the E17 between Ghent and Antwerp knows E17 Snack, the longstanding, family-owned business perched along the motorway. With its tell-tale sign featuring a girl eating a burger, E17 Snack in Waasmunster is one of the oldest motorway restaurants in Belgium.

All good things must come to an end, as they say, and it is no different for the well-known establishment. Flanders’ Roads & Traffic Agency (AWV) manages the land and has awarded the concession to operate on both sides of the motorway to XL Servicestations, which will run new restaurants, EV loading stations and services for families and truckers.

AWV says that it wants to improve the site for travellers, with more parking capacity for lorry drivers and roadside services such as toilets and showers, as well as playground and fitness equipment. There will be no petrol stations, but there will be 28 fast-charging stations for electric vehicles and eight for electric lorries.

There is also a serious problem of illegal dumping on the site, which has plagued the owners of E17 Snack for years. “The parking area will finally be addressed,” E17 Snack owner Kristien De Meulenaer told VRT. “Let’s face it, the parking lot does not make a good impression when you drive in here.”

De Meulenaere has run the small E17 Snack for the last 26 years and has often felt neglected by AWV when it came to the dumping problem. “Especially in the summer months I had to beg them to come and haul the trash from the parking. It was such a shame because it damaged the image of my business.”

She understands the agency’s desire to improve the site and did not bid for the new concession. “They were looking for someone willing to revamp the entire carpark and run larger motorway restaurants. As a small business owner, I simply don’t have the resources to make that happen. It’s a shame, but that’s the way it is.”

XL Servicestations, a daughter company of G&V Energy Group, promises better lighting and security cameras, along with the new services. But it will never have a relationship with customers the way E17 Snack does, says De Meulenaer.

“It’s unfortunate for the customers but also for me,” she says. “I know all of these people; I see children born who have grown up to be lorry drivers themselves and bring their own families here. Sometimes families even hold events here. It’s been my life’s work for 26 years. From sunup to sundown, I worked here with heart and soul.”