“It would have been easier to just build a McDonalds”

Post Pub has gotten a facelift, and popular restaurants have moved in. The old bricks have been preserved, but it has been necessary to bring the icon into the new millennium. This is what property developer and investor Christian Birger-Christensen believes, who has a broad background and former entrepreneur, and according to him, it makes sense to attract more entrepreneurs and small businesses to the centre of Lyngby

It is both famous, notorious and now also preserved for the future. Both inside and outside, the Post Pub has been refurbished and fortunately for the nostalgia factor, it looks like itself. When you enter the door in the slanted hallway, you see that the bar is in the same place where numerous draught beers have been poured at the time the building was much more brown and smokey than it is today. And if you look up before you enter the door, you will see that the wellknown spire on the oblique bay window is also preserved.

On the whole, a lot has been done to keep the memories and the charm the building is known for.

”It was important for me to renovate the building as is. It would probably have been more economical to tear it down and build new, but it would also be a huge mistake. That is why I wanted to leave the bricks behind because it fits entirely with the Post Pub identity. It’s a place people in the city already have a relationship with or know about – there are even people who have never been to Lyngby, but have heard of the Post Pub. It hasn’t been easy, but it doesn’t have to be, ”says Christian Birger-Christensen, who bought the building last year together with his partner the Thylander Group. Just as the renovation has been done with respect for what Post Pub once was, the site must also be developed with respect for the future of Lyngby. Christian Birger- Christensen today rents the premises to NoHo Partners who have established three different restaurants; Cocks and Cows, Luca and Chicks by Chicks.

It would have been easy to put a McDonalds in the Post Pub, but it would also be a real sin
Christian Birger-Christensen

Christian has known the new tenants for years and knew they stood for innovation. ”It fits into my picture of what Lyngby should be. The city must grow in harmony between new and old. New concepts must bring positive life to the city, but without destroying the old and charming environment which is a very important part of Lyngby. It would have been easy to put a McDonalds in the Post Pub, but it would also be a real sin, ” says Christian Birger-Christensen.

Attracting more entrepreneurs to the city

The youthful concepts should also draw a new clientele to Lyngby. According to Christian Birger-Christensen, more entrepreneurs and creative types will contribute to the development of Lyngby and might feed innovative solutions to the growing shopping town. ”Lyngby is going to evolve and grow no matter what. That is why we must grab the bull by the horns and steer the development in a clever way so that it does not develop on the back edge of growth. This is how the best results will be achieved. ”

He also agrees that it could make sense to actively attract more entrepreneurs.

”If we are to succeed, then we must strive to create an environment in which entrepreneurs want to stay. It’s something that’s really missing in Lyngby,” says Christian Birger-Christensen.

The city of knowledge makes a great effort to create an agenda for development and innovation. However, according to Christian Birger-Christensen, this means that grassroots entrepreneurship is lacking, where a few young people get together and invest everything they have in a given idea while living on toast and coffee until all their hard work pays.

”Maybe we think in Lyngby, that we are good at entrepreneurship. But I am not convinced that the surrounding area agrees. If you go out on the streets of Copenhagen, Aarhus or Odense, – the other major educational cities, they probably wouldn’t know that there is very much going on outside of DTU in Lyngby. If you want entrepreneurs, you have to communicate it. It is not rocket science, but it is a task that needs to be done ”says Christian Birger-Christensen, who at the same time emphasizes that all too often many just look to city hall and expect the municipality to do everything. ”They have plenty to keep track of down there and there can be lots of good business in entrepreneurship, without having to mix the public into it – they can be helpful and supportive, but the initiatives can easily come from private business.”

The capital of North Zealand

The rapid development is creating new opportunities for large and small businesses, and Lyngby has a unique opportunity that should be seized

”Lyngby is no longer the old suburb of Copenhagen. It is a new and modern capital of North Zealand. In particular, you can look at the clientele that is in the city. Those who move to the city are mostly families with parents who are typically in their prime working age, ”says Christian Birger-Christensen and continues:

”There is no doubt that if big business companies are willing to cooperate with sharp entrepreneurs, then Lyngby is an attractive place for small businesses, and it will be possible to hold on to them,” says Christian Birger-Christensen.