after 27 years of activity, this restaurateur is looking for a buyer

The site has existed for almost four centuries according to legend, and it is now looking for a buyer. The current manager of the Cheval Blanc restaurant in Bellac (Haute-Vienne), has decided to put his restaurant up for sale.

It is a page in the life of Bellac, north of Haute-Vienne, which is about to turn, but also a personal story. Dominique Lafont, owner of Cheval Blanc, took over the establishment in 1997. “It’s life, it’s completely normal,” he confides, his voice serene.

The manager now aspires to a quieter life, with a more traditional daily life, after having devoted twenty-seven years of his life to the establishment, and following minor health problems: “Having simple weekends, being able to simply go to shows, have New Year’s Eve like everyone else, he dreams. I had a life as a patachon at a certain period, I really liked it. Now with age and my little health scare. I had time to think about it a little bit.”

But abandoning this place that he loves so much, with all the memories attached to it, is not easy. Dominique Lafont, therefore, intends not to abandon his restaurant and to stay by his side until the arrival of a new buyer: the closure is planned for October and he is giving himself the winter to find a buyer.

Otherwise, it will reopen the following spring. “Ah no, I’m not going to abandon it and close it permanently, especially not. Besides, it would be a stain on the intersection. Already, there isn’t much left in our town. If the windows of the white horse remain closed for a long time, it would be a shame for our city”, he assures.

Especially since the place is a former hostelry. In a History of Bellac published in 1890, theauthor, a certain Abbot Granet claims it has existed since at least 1630. Legend or reality? Hard to say. Attached to the birthplace of Giraudoux, who would have frequented him, Le Cheval Blanc has all the makings of a Bellachon institution, including his paintings by Aimé Vallat.

The boss is well aware of the value of his establishment which has become almost a Bellac heritage. Thus, the Cheval Blanc is on sale for €350,000, wall and background included with 90% of the equipment. “It’s true, I’m expensive, I’m currently operating at 60% capacity. If the people are competent and professional, they can live very well in this establishment and earn a good living.”

Richard Barde has been in charge of the kitchens at Cheval Blanc since 2015. Coming from a restaurateur family, he will always remember the charm of the place “It’s inexplicable, the interior is old, the kitchen was there, long before me, and we feel that there has been experience. It’s a page to turn, and it’s perhaps the time for me to continue elsewhere.”

Le Cheval Blanc has become an emblematic place in Bellac largely thanks to its location at the crossroads of Europe. It is a place of passage popular with many tourists. “I have a very cosmopolitan clientele, remarks Dominique Lafont. I can have five, six nationalities on a service.” Among them, Dutch, Australians and New Zealanders. “I have some premises, fortunately and so much the better, but they are not the ones who essentially support me.”

When he was younger, Dominique Lafont fell in love with the establishment. “When I hung around a little too much in the evening, the only establishment that welcomed me and my friends was here and quite late. And when we returned to the room, there was no Bellachon, there was no had only passing people, and I said to myself ‘It’s incredible, how this guy manages to have people, it’s not possible. Plus there wasn’t the facade like now, he. There was absolutely nothing, plus the meals were more than average. There’s something, that’s why I wanted to take it again.

For this midday service, regulars and new faces joined at Cheval Blanc. Léo, a foreign tourist, has faithfully taken his place at the table: he has been eating there for fifteen years, each time he visits Bellac. “It’s a pleasant place and the atmosphere is very friendly. Unfortunately, it’s our last day since we leave Bellac tomorrow, but we will come back. We have built a special bond with this place,” he confides.

The establishment still has good days ahead of it.

And once he has sold, Dominique Lafont already has projects, in particular that of organizing booms in Haut-Limousin.