Records of that time show that the population was about 800 people and that the village had 6 pubs, some of them with interesting names:
- the "Wethuys" was the main pub also functioning as ‘city hall’, where the mayor and the aldermen held their meetings.
- the "Bruyelkin" points to the Bruegel family who originally owned the place
- the "Treurniet" must have been the pub where joy was a must, since the name says "don’t mourn".
- the "Schaere" (scissors) was on an important intersection and we can understand the symbolic name.
- the "Heetjen" must have been a place with one or more hot blooded girls.
- the "Halve Maene" (half moon) is a nice name for a pub, that is found in several villages in Flanders.

Could it have a romantic meaning?
The funny thing is, that a document signed by the mayor and the aldermen, and addressed to the higher authorities, states that all these pubs "are a necessity and are useful".

A severe agricultural crisis in Europe between 1845 - 1850, provoked famine and the exodus of a lot of the people to the new world: America. Bavikhove also saw several of its inhabitants take the boat and hope for a better future overseas. Most of them started a new life in South Michigan (Detroit), and in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Those who stayed behind in Bavikhove were able to start a complete new industry in the area thanks to the invention of the steam-machine. Flax then became the dominant crop on the farms, was rotted in the nearby river, the Leye, to expose the fibers, and was processed in an industrial manner: the spinning and weaving in factories became the number one occupation of the people. Around the turn of the century in 1900 the number of pubs had grown to over 50 to lessen the thirst of all the factory workers.

It was the right time in 1894 for the De Brabandere family to start brewing beer in a more professional manner, in a brand new brewery. Until then, the family had only brewed beer for its own consumption on the family farm, like every farmer did. The earliest documents, dated 1280, about the family De Brabandere show that they were important farmers in South Flanders, which is now part of France. The family had to flee their native villages due to the expansionist politics of France, which invaded Flanders and was able to keep part of it.

The first industrial brewer was Joseph De Brabandere. One of his brothers stayed on the family farm, another brother became important in the flax-business, and the third brother became a Catholic missionary in China, where he died in 1905. In 1894 the number of smaller breweries was already in decline. The local brews, until then only top fermenting ales, received competition from a newly invented and imported beer style, the bottom fermenting Pilsner. The hard working laborers in the many factories liked this new cheap beer, that was served for the first time in glasses. It is a fact, that the cheap industrial production of glasses was a major factor in the success of the Pilsner beer style. For the first time, the average beer drinker could actually see the color of what he was drinking. Joseph De Brabandere jumped on this new beer trend and became the most important Pils brewer in his region. Before starting his own brewery, Joseph had worked several years in two existing breweries, where he had learned what was done right, but also what was done wrong or what needed to be done to evolve the brewing business with the new emerging markets and trends.

Along with the Pils, also a classic dark ale was brewed since the early days. Both beers were kegged in wooden barrels of about 50 gallons (170 liter) and transported with cart and horse to the bars. Around 1900 the brewery books show, the average bar had a turnover between 2 to 16 barrels per week. Fourteen years later, the German army confiscated and closed the brewery during WW I. After the war, Joseph succeeded to restart the brewery, and he could cash in on the rebuilding effort of all the cities and villages in the front region. Cities like Ypres and Diksmuide, and over a hundred villages were completely destroyed during the war.

A large amount of day laborers were needed during many years to rebuild the infrastructure and the thousands of houses. Joseph’s brother was married to a brick-yard’s daughter. The brick-yard shipped thousands of horse-carts of bricks to the builders. Thanks to the family ties, Joseph was able to convince the brick-yard to take barrels of Bavik’s beer on its carts to the building front together with the bricks.

Joseph died at a young age in 1929, and it was his wife Gabrielle Vandeghinste, a brewer’s daughter, who managed the brewery until 1950. She expanded the brewery considerably and was lucky to convince the Germans to keep the brewery open during WW II. Just before the war she had invested in a new Chevrolet truck, and was able to hide the never used truck during the whole war. When the war was over in 1944, her brewery was intact and she had the truck at hand to start delivery.

Joseph’s and Gabrielle’s children expanded the brewery further through modernization and market expansion. In 1972 all shares of the brewery were united in the hands of Albert De Brabandere, father of the actual owner and manager Ignace De Brabandere. In 1958 the brewery invested in a new venture: the production and distribution of lemonade’s and mineral waters. The mineral water comes out of a natural well, that is situated about 1000 feet below the brewery. That same water is used to brew 80,000 barrels of beer per year in 1999. Which makes Bavik the largest brewery of West Flanders. It is only since the last 10 years that the brewery is involved in export, mainly France and the Netherlands. The new millennium 2000 is the start for the export of Bavik’s beers in the USA.