Placed in liquidation this summer, “Chez Michou” will continue to enchant Parisian nights in the hands of its new owner.
Comedian Gad Elmaleh was chosen by the courts to take over the famous establishment under a new name but “while keeping the soul of the place”.
“It’s a very good thing to turn the page, by taking a turn,” Michou’s niece commented for AFP.
There was only the interpreter of “Chouchou de la place de Clichy” to take possession of “Chez Michou” rue des Martyrs in Montmartre. Gad Elmaleh was chosen by the Paris commercial court to buy the business of the emblematic Parisian transformist cabaret, which had been placed in liquidation in mid-July after financial difficulties. Its 23 employees were laid off after the establishment closed permanently at the end of June before its 68th birthday.
We would have been unfortunate if the place became anything other than a cabaret
Catherine Catty-Jacquart, niece of Michou
If he takes over the walls, Gad Elmaleh has not bought the brand bearing the name of its flamboyant founder, who died in early 2020. He plans to make the place “a place of comedy and humor, while keeping the soul of the place”its communications department explained to AFP. A decision that delights Michou’s niece.
Catherine Catty-Jacquart estimates from AFP that “Gad Elmaleh will continue to keep ’80 rue des Martyrs’ alive, having fallen into good hands as Michou would have liked. We would have been unfortunate if the place became anything other than a cabaret.” “It will no longer be called ‘Chez Michou’, but Gad will make it a very beautiful place. It’s a very good thing to turn the page, by taking a turn”she adds. No reopening date has yet been announced.
