Le Riverside, Retro Piano, the Living room, Tante Suzette, Petit Paul, Max and the scrapper, Blues Rock, Pistou, François Iisor Chez Paul. One wonders if Jean-Paul Decroix didn’t have as many things as floral shirts. At 72, the king of the party has decided to give back his crown by selling his last business, L’Atelier, the brasserie on Place l’Hôtel-de-ville (see…
Le Riverside, Retro Piano, the Living room, Tante Suzette, Petit Paul, Max and the scrapper, Blues Rock, Pistou, François Iis or Chez Paul. One wonders if Jean-Paul Decroix didn’t have as many things as floral shirts. At 72, the king of the party has decided to give back his crown by selling his last business, L’Atelier, the brasserie on Place l’Hôtel-de-ville (see box). Epilogue of a career which began in Angoulême in 1982 with the creation of the nightclub Le Riverside, boulevard Besson-Bey.
Julie Desbois
“I had a blast, I was popular with the girls, I made money, I drove a Ferrari. »
Another era, that of long necks, cowboy boots and high-waisted jeans who flocked every weekend to dance to “The Demons of Midnight”. “It was the Saturday outing, at 10:30 p.m., there was already the queue,” rewinds the captain who now divides his time between Angoulême, Brive – where his wife lives – and Saint-Palais. A blessed period and “a dream life”: “I had a blast, I was popular with the girls, I made money, I drove a Ferrari, what more do you want? Well obviously, I made people jealous! » The Riverside, like other nightclubs in those years, was burned down.
“Travelos” and Johnny lookalike
So the world of the night is over, but not the bamboches. He cites that of his 50th birthday, a disguised birthday where “travelers” and a Johnny Hallyday lookalike met. He likes his “Brazilian outfit”, the one with which “I paraded at the Rio carnival”, swears this party animal at heart who does not hesitate to take off his shirt – and not only that – when the moon is that high than the ethyl level.
Julie Desbois
If the man doesn’t spit on the bottle, he promises: “I’ve never rolled on the floor and I’ve never taken a Doliprane in my life for a headache.” A hangover, I don’t know what it is.” He doesn’t know what drugs are either. “Already, a Marlboro light, I’m choking so good…” A line – of conduct – which has allowed this night owl, always attracted by this nocturnal environment, to last. “People are different, they want to party. You don’t have the guy who makes a face when he gets off work,” observes the man who started as a night taxi in Paris, regularly transporting a drunk Serge Gainsbourg in his car, returning from the Élysée Matignon, the club trendy Champs-Élysées.
In Angoulême, but also Tours, Poitiers, La Rochelle, Soulac and Amiens, Jean-Paul Decroix has accumulated around thirty cases during his professional life. How to explain this bulimia? “It was euphoria, it worked well! And if you have good managers, you can start as many businesses as you want. » An entourage who remained loyal to him like Roland Vuillemenot, 41 years as a bartender at L’Atelier including 16 under the Decroix era, whom he thanked on Monday during a farewell evening. The last of the last? “We don’t know,” replies the person concerned. The king never dies.
Name, map, times: what will change
L’Atelier, located on Place de l’Hôtel-de-ville, was sold by Jean-Paul Decroix to two couples associated with the Iséo restaurant group which has six restaurants in La Rochelle and one in Aytré. Following the official signing, this Wednesday, the establishment will be closed from October 20 to 23, time to carry out some adjustments before reopening on the 24th. “More substantial work will be carried out in a year”, indicate Anthony , 39, and Gladys Louchart, 29, alongside Caroline Benest, 26, and Jean-Claude Tekuataoa, 30. Among the new features: a renewed menu around French-Thai cuisine, opening from 8:30 a.m. and a change of name: “L’Atelier by May”.
