Par
Romain Dameron
Published on
Oct. 21, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.
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Best pancake in Val-d’Oisebest chocolate éclair in Île-de-France… The distinctions still adorn the window, but the Laublet bakery and pastry shopavenue Marcel-Perrin, will no longer reopen.
Present for seventeen years in the city center of Méry-sur-Oise (Val-d’Oise), Laurent Laublet, the boss, closed the door at the beginning of the summer, to the great surprise of the Merysians.
He was the only baker and pastry chef in the town. An anomaly for this town of 10,000 souls, because, in France, there is one bakery for 1,800 inhabitants.
Explosive bills
“We had been in the hot seat for five years. The oven was at the end of its life, the bills (gas, electricity, raw materials, etc.) were skyrocketing. Every month, we went into debt. 17 years ago, we paid €1,400 in rent, recently, it was €2,600, explains Laurent Laublet. The awards and prizes kept our heads above water a little, but it wasn’t enough. I always thought I would get through it. When we closed at the end of June and I put the key in the mailbox, I knew it was over. I said goodbye to a few customers and we left. »
The problems started a little before the pandemic. At the time of Covid, the artisan sold a lot of bread, but no pastries.
“We weren’t entitled to anything,” he sighs. We discussed with the City to create a bread depot at the station, but it never came to fruition. If I could have changed my oven, that would have helped me, but a new oven costs between €30,000 and €40,000. It was not possible. »
The bakery was placed in compulsory liquidation. A buyer had positioned himself, but the City exercised its right of pre-emption and took over the business in August.
City looking for “good baker”
“The objective of our ongoing research is now to install a “good baker” in our city center bakery, offering you traditional breads and quality pastries, but also to restore color to the aging store,” indicates the municipality. in the last Meridian.
Good news for Mérysiens: a second bakery will open in mid-December, in the unoccupied premises of the Méry-sur-Oise SNCF station.
Baguette Marcel enters Méry station
Unoccupied for several years, the premises on the ground floor of the Méry-sur-Oise SNCF station will host a Baguette Marcel bakery in December.
Since February 2024 and the opening of its store in Chambly (Oise), the brand has spread points of sale in Val-d’Oise: Presles, L’Isle-Adam and Méry. “We will open on December 20, in Méry,” says Adrien Régnault, marketing manager of Baguette Marcel. “We have an expansion project and we need several stores to be profitable.” All artisanal products are developed in the Chambly laboratory and shipped daily to points of sale. “We avoid frozen by staying within a small area and everything is homemade.” Baguette Marcel continues its recruitment and is looking for bakers, pastry chefs and touriers. To apply, send a CV to [email protected].
“I didn’t always agree with the mayor, nevertheless, he is trying to do something in terms of commerce,” concedes Laurent Laublet. They will have to bring everything up to standard, but I fear that the city center will die little by little. »
Breton rebound
Aged 58, the former baker from Méry now lives in Brittany where he moved this summer with his wife. “I found work straight away with a craftsman. I lead a team of four kids,” he smiles. And there is no question of considering retirement. The good Armorican air has given him a second youth: “If I can push myself to 65… It keeps me in shape and I can keep up with the young people. And then, I am not closed to the idea of taking over a business. »A king of pancakes among the Bretons? Logical after all…
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