Last Saturday the “Panier d’Arièjo” in Vicdessos was inaugurated. A great day for Florian, Holly and Nathalie who attended the official opening of their multi-service grocery store live. A family project that has been carefully considered for months and which took shape on Saturday.
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the new owners welcomed their guests, elected officials, residents of the valley, local producers, project partners, tourists, around a friendly, self-service sweet/savory breakfast, composed of pastries, apple juice, coffee, cold meats, cheese, local products and from the family farm. For this first opening morning, certainly exceptional, they were not idle: Nathalie (Florian’s mother and partner) was in the kitchen, Holly at the cash register, Florian in sales and Mallaury (Florian’s sister) in service. The guests, between pastries and savory tastings, discovered the store, completely transformed and renovated with great taste by the owners who were widely complimented. “We were waiting for this opening, the valley needed it and what you have made a success.” Nathalie, faced with so many compliments, confides that she has been moved several times: “I didn’t expect so many people and so many thanks, it warms my heart” and Florian adds: “For months the people of the valley have lived without a bakery and without a butcher’s shop, we had to fill this void without local shops there are no more social ties and a village, especially a rural one, is no longer attractive, we had to recreate all of that. Customers for sure will not be disappointed, in Florian and Holly’s store you can find almost everything, good products and friendliness. The store has two spaces, one dedicated to sales with a corner of fresh produce and cheeses to cut, another dedicated to meat (vacuum-packed) and self-service dairy products, a delicatessen section offers dishes cooked from producers, honeys, jams, cakes and Ariège wines and the bakery houses breads, pastries and pastries baked on site. The other space is entirely dedicated to conviviality with the snack bar which will open soon and will offer hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, salads, quiches, ice creams and desserts that customers can enjoy on the terrace. And finally, a press briefing will provide the day’s newspapers, including La Dépêche from June 16. A week after opening, customers are there, still satisfied with their visits to the store. Orders from elected officials and individuals have already been placed as part of one-off events. Florian, Holly and Nathalie wanted to meet customer needs, and that’s what they did. They welcome them 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and always with a smile!
