Gerra, Gufflet, Florentin: these investors who save the beautiful restaurants of Lyon
On August 19, we revealed that Laurent Gerra was taking over the restaurants in which he was only a minority shareholder, in order to ensure their sustainability: Léon de Lyon in the lead, the Croix-Rousse institution Le Chanteclair, as well as Pléthore and Balthazar , rue Mercière, the first restaurant in which he invested in 2014.
By becoming 100% owner of these establishments in Lyon, the comedian approached the Bocuse group to ensure management, which has no structure to manage catering establishments. An agreement that is still being developed at the time of writing these lines.
Matthieu Gufflet buys La Mère Brazier…
And yet, in the gastronomic universe of Lyon, more and more establishments are taken over by people outside the trade. This is the case of La Mère Brazier. Today, its new majority shareholder is a Bordeaux businessman, Matthieu Gufflet. At the head of Epsa, a consulting group with 2,000 employees in 35 countries, he became the majority shareholder of the two-starred restaurant on rue Royale, but also of its grocery stores.
An acquisition that he explains with simplicity: “In 2019, with my wife, we created the Terres de Natures brand, which we are developing in the hotel, catering, well-being and viticulture sectors. In this context, we acquired, among other things, the hotel Les Roches Fleuries near Megève, the Domaine des Bachelards in Fleurie in Beaujolais… I was looking for a well-known brand to develop the food of Terres de Natures, and through a mutual acquaintance, I was led to meet Mathieu Viannay during Sirha in September 2021. He involved me in his reflection on the development of his grocery stores and his search for investors. »
Nine months later, last May, the two men signed the sale, Matthieu Gufflet buying the shares of Olivier Ginon, CEO of GL Events, in the restaurant and grocery stores, becoming majority shareholder in both structures, but responsible for operational governance to Lyonnais chef Mathieu Viannay.
… with four new grocery stores expected
A new association for the chef who will bring La Mère Brazier outside the gates of the world capital of gastronomy. Indeed, from 2023, the ambition of the new duo is to open four grocery stores (two in Lyon, one in Paris and one in Bordeaux), but also to develop corners in hotels with the Terres de Natures label, where will find “the top 20 of the best grocery references”.
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To ensure the development of his new brand, the business manager based between Paris, Bordeaux and Lyon is investing in premises of 300 m2 at La Mulatière, in the former wasteland of the SNCF, where part will be devoted to the production of charcuterie products from La Mère Brazier, the pâté crust in the lead (the bakery part remaining in the Vaise grocery store).
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But he has also thought about training the teams, and for this he will rely on the driving forces of the starred restaurant — Denis Verneau, sommelier and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, as well as Stéphane Da Costa, room manager — who will bring their expertise and will pass on their knowledge to 250 of the 350 employees who will be in contact with the products of La Mère Brazier. A strategy that already seems well established, and which only concerns the group’s grocery stores. “I have no desire to take La Mère Brazier to Paris and open a restaurant there. I want to keep the authenticity of the place and its cuisine. It is a magical place that is unique,” reassures the one who now comes to Lyon every week.
Philippe Florentin puts Abel back on his feet
It is somewhat in line with this philosophy that Philippe Florentin decided to develop the spirit and the cuisine of the Café Comptoir Abel, an almost century-old house in Lyon. After the acquisition in 2008 of this institution thanks to the sale of its communication group, then the opening of the Bistrot d’Abel at the Cordeliers in 2015, the communicator and restaurateur also launched into the grocery store.
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First by buying the pharmacy next door to Ainay’s emblematic restaurant, then by developing the house’s signature dishes, in jars, and a range of pies with Bastien Depietri, its executive chef… From a shop, he is increased to three, including a new one in Croix-Rousse and one in the 6e borough.
If the businessman and epicurean is currently putting the turbo on another of his more lucrative activities, the Chef Cheffe concept (high-end meal trays delivered in jars to companies), he is considering opening other Abel grocery stores. in the holiday resorts of the Lyonnais, in the mountains, and perhaps in Paris.
“I am a walker”
“I am a walker. Buying Abel wasn’t the most worthwhile investment, but I want to keep this beautiful house. I am not ready to sell. In addition, it increases each year by 10% to 20%. Knowing that we make 80% of our turnover in the evening, on a phenomenal margin of progress on lunch and seminars for companies in our three upstairs lounges that we have recently renovated with Alain Vavro”, explains the 62-year-old enthusiast whose holding was 20% supported by Charles Beigbeder at the time of his development of BIEH restaurants, since replaced by Amundi.
“They are fabulous partners who provide a foundation for the group if we want to develop it, but who have no influence on any decision. This makes it possible to have less recourse to banks and less pressure on a daily basis »describes Philippe Florentin.
The 14 starred chefs go it alone
But not everyone is “lucky” to have investors juggling seven- or eight-figure accounts with them, or the desire to be pressured by them. This is the case for the vast majority of Lyon chefs – if not all – who work in their kitchens every day.
Among the 14 starred chefs in Lyon, none has an investor at his side: Gaëtan Gentil from Prairial, Bernard Mariller from Gourmet de Sèze, Jérémy Galvan, Christophe Roure from the Neuvième Art, Maxime Laurencin from Rustique… all are chefs and chefs companies and had to call on bank assistance to go higher.
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Even Tabata and Ludovic Mey took over the Tour Rose with the help of banks, not investors. Ditto for the Café des Fédérations taken over by a man in love with Lyon and its history, Jean-Luc Plasse-Molette, or the Brasserie Georges which was taken over by the Lameloise family… It would seem that in Lyon, the cuisine is above all a love story with a place and its history, rather than a story of profitability.
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Moreover, when he invested in the takeover of Léon de Lyon in 2018, Laurent Gerra said: “For me, it’s a way of preserving the heritage, so that it doesn’t fall into the hands of a group, and of preserving the soul of the establishment. » Before adding: “You know, I’m lucky to have all of this. I tell myself every day. Having your name associated with a fine establishment where you eat well, or having your name on a bottle, is like having your name on the facade of the Olympia. It’s the same pride. »
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