There is always the round house, its conical roof, the dark beams, the wicker chairs and the kitchen within the room itself, where cuts of meat crackle: rib steak, andouillette de Troyes or of beef to share. But, for some time, it smells scorched at Courtepaille. The famous restaurant chain is for sale, like our colleagues from echoes revealed on Tuesday. Once once more. Already in September 2020, Courtepaille, then in receivership, had been taken over for 17 million euros by the Buffalo Grill group, now renamed Napaqaro, following a fierce battle once morest the Bertrand group. Napaqaro is focusing on the development in France of Popeyes, the American fast food chain specializing in chicken.
In an interview with Le Parisien, Jocelyn Olive, then general manager of Buffalo Grill, promised “an investment plan of more than 80 million euros over a period of five years, to which must be added 20 million in marketing and media expenses, i.e. more than 100 million euros. »
And he intended to keep 240 establishments representing 3,100 jobs. Just over two years later, there are only 2,089 employees in 144 branch restaurants and 76 franchisees. And attendance fell by 25% compared to 2019, for a turnover of barely 190 million euros last year!
The Covid did not help the buyer
“Establishments are aging and only two restaurants have since been renovated under the Arlette et Jean par Courtepaille banner (a new version of the concept)”, regrets Yann Dubaele, central trade union representative of the CFTC. A few others have also switched to rotisserie mode, but the recipe does not seem to be successful.
It must be said that the buyer was not served by the events with a room service which remained suspended for seven months because of the pandemic. “There have been investments but they have served to resist the consequences of the Covid crisis”, defends a spokesperson for Napaqaro who tells us that the group is looking for “an investor or an industrial or financial buyer”. . If the balance sheet at the end of 2022 is not yet known, the liabilities at the end of 2021 were already around 25 million euros.
“There is no more welcome salad! »
On the customer side, this new development is hardly surprising. “We should call Valérie Damidot to smooth over all this”, smile together Bakari, Assmaa and Florence, at the exit of the Courtepaille restaurant in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines) which was half full this Wednesday noon. These three salespeople from the nearby Renault dealership come here for lunch once a week, taking advantage of the 40% discount offered by Groupon on grilled meats.
With a starter, three main courses and two desserts, they got away with it that day for 40 euros in all. “The staff is adorable but it’s not the same quality as before and, without the reduction, we wouldn’t come”, analyzes Bakari. And Assmaa adds: “Especially since there is no longer the welcome salad! »
“It’s true that it was nice,” adds Monique, a retiree from Cergy (Val-d’Oise). She and her husband, Guy, who leaves with his bottle of Brouilly still half full, have remained unconditional fans of Courtepaille for thirty years, especially on the holiday route to reach Haute-Savoie or the Ile de Ré. . “The menu suits us well, it’s good value for money and we’re rarely disappointed,” continues Guy.
Because therein lies the dilemma for a possible buyer of this jewel of French catering, the first restaurant chain created in 1961 in Rouvray (Burgundy): keep the DNA so as not to frighten aficionados while reinventing itself in order to attract new clients. “Courtepaille is a huge notoriety but a disastrous image”, slice, cash, Bernard Boutboul, president of the consulting firm Gira, specializing in catering.
So who might be tempted to take up this challenge? The candidates risk not jostling at the gate because the bill promises to be salty. “Just for the renovation, you have to put at least 500,000 euros per unit and there are 220 restaurants, list Bernard Boutboul, who looked into the file in the summer of 2020 following being approached by potential investors . That’s almost 150 million euros in addition to the purchase. And then, you have to get back to the pot to rebuild your image: it’s very easy to lower a reputation but long and complicated to raise it. »
Suffice to say that a potential investor will have to have a lot of money… and patience before a possible return on investment.
