Toulouse. François Sabi, the patriarch of “Father Léon”, has left us
The “Father Leon” was him. An emblematic figure of this well-known brasserie in downtown Toulouse, François Sabi, left us on the night of Friday to Saturday at the age of 90.
His family, moved, remembers the one affectionately called “Bambi”.
All followers of Father Léon know that François Sabi had never left his dear café, created by Léon Sentenac in the 1900s, place Esquirol. Seated in a corner of the room, he attentively followed the incessant ballet of the service. For fifty years, François Sabi had held, with his wife, Marie-Claude, granddaughter of the founder, this flagship establishment in Toulouse. “My uncle was born in Spain in Val d’Aran on August 11, 1932”, explains Jean-François, his nephew, who has been in charge of the establishment for several years. “He was a 1.85m personality, passionate, generous and seductive.” François Sabi loved the mountains, skiing, motorcycle trips with his friends, rugby and his grandchildren. He had also trod the powder from the age of seven, eight years old, with wooden skis. Mathieu, a nephew very close to the family, specifies: “He couldn’t stand the sea which, it seems, made him feel seasick!”. Of his experience in shoes in the 60s, he liked to say: “from the sole to the steak, there is only one step”. On the aura understood, François Sabi did not skimp on humor. A man also with many lives. “The deportation with his family by the Francoists to Argelès then to Burgundy had marked his childhood. He had also returned to this village to make a donation to the town hall”. After his marriage to Marie-Claude, he joined Father Léon: “At the time, the business, open at night, had its heyday. The students savored the mythical onion soup there after going through the de l’Ubu. It was the meeting place for night owls and partygoers who loved sleepless nights”. Always close to Father Léon, “Bambi” lived above the café for many years: “he never completely left the room. He liked the pushy bottles lined up above the bar. This collection started by Léon Sentenac, like big insects, was, according to him, the soul of the establishment”. Baby too.