Unusual deposit required from some guests

Does Ghent, Belgium’s De Dulle Griet bar give a whole new meaning to the term shoe-in?

The watering hole, helping people quench their thirst in Ghent’s old quarter for over 40 years, asks those who opt for a house beer that’s served in a pricey, specially sculpted glass — placed in a wooden holder recalling a long-running area tradition — to turn over one of their shoes as a deposit, a move aimed at ensuring patrons don’t sneak off with their glass.

The shoe is placed in a basket, which is then hoisted upward, with an attached bell announcing a bar client will only have half  of his or her footware until settling their bill.

De Dulle Griet employee Michael Beaujean says he’s seen some customers who were bending their elbows enthusiastically head out the door half shoeless after deciding to call it a night.

“Sometimes I have to remind people leaving with one shoe, otherwise I’d  have a large collection of shoes at home,” he reports.

De Dulle Griet customers can choose from over 500 beers, including “world famous Belgian Trappist beers or hidden treasures from unknown breweries” offered in what TripAdvisor labels a”wonderful old Flemish interior.”

Walls in the self-described “beer cafe” are coated with an eclectic decor that ranges from signs promoting different breweries to a Saskatchewan license plate to a stuffed wild boar’s head that displays fearsome looking choppers.

And those who decide to have a house beer served in one of the special glasses (which come with the wooden cupholder that are reminders of how long ago carriage operators who were forbidden from having alcohol next to them while working then placed drinks in wood cupholders attached to the sides of their vehicles) will have to agree to surrender one of their shoes until  settling their tabs.

But they can expect that the likes of Beaujean will be careful to reunite them their footware once they’ve paid up.

“I have a no-shoe-left-behind policy,” he reports.