Every morning, Nicolas Turon pays tribute to his department with a funny, tender and knowing text, in the form of a declaration of love for the Moselle. He chooses an emblem belonging to history or current events and treats it in an offbeat way.
The golden lion is a common animal species in French restaurant brands, in the same way as Fox and Hounds in England. There are almost as many golden felines in our cities as there are Brasseries du stadium or Relais de la Poste; but the lion of Ancy is an exception, if only for the duration of its existence…
Throughout the 19th century, bars, estaminets, taverns and canteens flourished on the French streets to water and feed the workers of the industrial revolution. The origin of the Golden Lion dates back to this century. They don’t yet serve veal’s head with ravigote sauce, but they are already cultivating a sense of anecdote: if the corner of the bar could talk, it would tell. Rub the zinc and stories of genius will come out.
That of the takeover of the bar by Daniel and Francine, in 1983, for example: Daniel is originally from Amnéville. He is a dog groomer, but, allergic to animal hair, he is forced to change careers. His wife, a beautician, is the daughter of the Ancy baker, a Courouve, niece of Raymond Mondon; we see her alongside the Minister in photographs taken at the finish of a stage of the Tour de France…
