the essential
Franco-Belgian, based on the banks of the Lot, between Livinhac-le-haut and Boisse-Penchot, Magali Folliot had the good idea of creating her itinerant bar, with which she sets up every week in several villages in the West Aveyron, to serve a good dose of conviviality.
It’s the original story of a traveling bar that rolls its glasses in fine weather from village to village to serve a good dose of conviviality, well-being and good living, at aperitif time. A pretty and gleaming red and black truck bearing the image of Betty Boop, baptized “Trait d’union” by Magali Folliot, a dynamic Franco-Belgian fifty-year-old, based in the Decazeville Basin for nearly 20 years, first in Aubin and now in Livinhac-le-Haut, which had the good idea to embark on this deeply human project.
Thermal agent in Cransac
Between Livinhac and Boisse-Penchot, in the middle of green nature, a large house with blue shutters overlooks the bed of the Lot river. Magali Folliot lives there alongside her three boys, Némo, Titouan, Nathan, her husband Jean-Philippe and their cats. After growing up and living in the Lille region throughout her youth, this Franco-Belgian, holder of a master’s degree in applied foreign languages, decided to leave the North with her family.
“We wanted to buy a house. The Lille region has become very expensive and it lacks a bit of greenery… As my eldest son had asthma, we decided to move away from the big cities and go further south,” says Magali. “It was like this, completely by chance, that we ended up in the Basin, where we found a very good quality of life. We are very happy here. We met lots of breeders, we can buy the meat directly, and then there are all the market gardeners.” After working in a telephone call center in Decazeville, a job she had already practiced in the North, Magali also worked in the language stay sector in Rodez. For several years, she has worked, now part-time, at the Cransac thermal establishment.
A former mobile radio studio
“We saw a report on a similar experience in the Lot. I found it great to go and meet people in the villages,” confides Magali. “The idea germinated during the Covid confinement period and Jean-Philippe finished motivating me.” The couple purchased a truck pre-equipped as a mobile radio studio, open on the side, which offered “a good base…” Jean-Philippe was responsible for the decoration and interior fittings to install the furniture necessary, the fridge and the beer tap. Time to obtain a License III, which allows you to sell alcohol of less than 18 degrees, to carry out all the administrative procedures (a headache!) and to contact the municipalities, the adventure of “Trait d’union ” began during the summer of 2022. During two evenings per week to start.
Since last year, from April to October, when the weather permits, Magali’s traveling bar has been set up, from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday in Agnac, Wednesday in Asprières, Thursday at Plateau d ‘Hymes (odd week) and Rulhe (even week), Friday in Vaureilles. On request, the traveling bar can also be privatized for a wedding, a birthday, a party or any other family gathering.
“It’s complicated to live from it”
Magali, who now divides her professional life between her traveling bar and the Cransac thermal establishment, offers all kinds of drinks, syrups, fruit juices, lemonades, beers, wines… as well as plates of cold meats and cheeses, and ice creams. crafts in summer. “Only Aveyron products, with the exception of two wines,” insists the Livinhaois barmaid. “We receive a very good reception, people appreciate the formula, it allows them to get together, to exchange ideas, to recreate a little life in the villages,” says Magali. “Even if it’s complicated to make a living from it, I enjoy it. It’s pure happiness, because I see that I do good to people, it creates a bond.” During certain weekends, Magali participates in various events, such as, for example, the Baraqueville fair.
