Why Teatower Liège opens every first Sunday of the month

Every first Sunday of the month, we open the doors of our shop in Liège. This is an initiative led by the Liège Merchants Association, and we participate with conviction. Not out of obligation. Out of common sense.

The Liège paradox

Despite this initiative, the reality is brutal: the vast majority of Liège shops remain closed on Sundays. Shutters down, windows dark, deserted streets.

Meanwhile, thousands of Liège residents get in their cars. Destination: Maastricht. Forty minutes driving north, towards the Netherlands, to do what they cannot do at home — stroll, explore, shop on a Sunday.

Liège money goes to Maastricht. Liège jobs remain hypothetical. And our city centres empty a little more each weekend.

A commercial lease doesn't take a day off

Let's be clear about the numbers. A commercial lease runs 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Closing on Sunday means voluntarily giving up 15% of your commercial time while paying 100% of your rent.

For a city centre shop like ours, this amounts to offering your landlord a free day every week. Fifty-two Sundays a year when the rent meter is running, but the till stays closed.

As a merchant, I consider this a strategic error.

What our data tells us

At Teatower, we're fortunate to also sell online. And our e-commerce data tells a crystal-clear story: **Sunday is our peak order day of the week**. Where a Friday generates 7 to 8 orders, a Sunday morning generates 34 to 35.

Why? Because Sunday is the moment of ritual. The moment for oneself. When one takes time to choose their tea, discover a new infusion, treat themselves to a moment of wellbeing. It's the exact moment when our customer — often a woman aged 30 to 45, mindful of her life balance — connects with what makes her feel good.

This moment already exists. It happens online because our physical doors are closed. Imagine what it would be like with an open shop, warm welcome, a tasting.

My conviction

I don't believe in Monday-to-Saturday commerce. I believe in full weekend commerce.

Saturday and Sunday are the two days when families are together, when couples stroll, when friends meet in town. These are the two days when retail makes the most sense — because shopping in-store is also leisure, an outing, an experience.

Closing on Sunday means telling our customers: "Come back on a Tuesday between meetings." It's absurd. It's cutting ourselves off from our best commercial moment to respect a habit that no longer has reason to exist.

A call to Liège

My message addresses three audiences.

**To our teams**: opening on Sunday requires organisational effort. Adapted schedules, fair rotation, just compensation. We commit to this. Because if we ask our team to be there on Sunday, it's because we believe this day makes the difference — for our customers and for the sustainability of our shops.

**To Liège merchants**: every shop closed on Sunday is another argument to get in the car towards Maastricht. Sunday opening only works if it's collective. One shop open on a dead street is a futile effort. Ten shops open on the same street is a destination. The Liège Merchants Association is right to push this dynamic. Let's follow it.

**To political decision-makers**: city centre retail is fighting to survive against e-commerce, retail parks and more attractive neighbouring cities. Facilitating Sunday opening — through regulatory flexibility, tax incentives, Sunday city centre animation — is not a luxury. It's a question of economic survival for our commercial districts.

Teatower's choice

We open every first Sunday of the month in Liège. This is just a beginning. Our ambition, ultimately, is to open every Sunday — because that's where our customers are waiting for us, and because it's consistent with our business model.

Tea is a Sunday morning ritual. Our shop should be too.