The Hard Rock Café in Paris, the very last establishment in France of the American restaurant chain of the same name, has closed its doors, AFP noted this Wednesday. “We regret to inform you that we are closed. We thank you as well as the city of Paris which has always welcomed us warmly and enthusiastically.“, indicates a sign in French and English placed in front of the establishment located on Boulevard Montmartre, in the heart of the capital.
The Hard Rock Cafe International group is a chain of restaurants, hotels and casinos present in more than 70 countries around the world through some 250 establishments, according to its website. It is owned by the Seminole Native American tribe. Hard Rock Cafés are famous for their collections of musical instruments that belonged to singers or rock groups, and are popular stopping places for foreign tourists who often leave with a Tshirt – the best-seller of the sign – in memory of their visit.
The establishment opened in 1991
The management of the Hard Rock Café in Paris, contacted on Wednesday by AFP, was unable to provide information on the reasons for the closure or the number of employees employed, estimated at around 90 by some media. The Parisian establishment, opened in 1991 and located on the grand boulevards, offered some 200 “original pieces by artists” – musical instruments, stage clothing, musician autographs or even personal documents belonging to rock legends like Elvis Presley or Eric Clapton.
The Hard Rock Café establishment in Lyon had already closed its doors at the beginning of 2024 and that of Nice in September 2023, after that of Marseille in 2017. According to the latest available accounts of the company Hard Rock Café France, consulted by the AFP, the company reported for its Paris establishment a loss of 1.8 million euros for the 2022 financial year, double the previous year. Its turnover stood at 8.7 million euros, compared to 3.4 million in 2021, and the company then indicated that it employed 96 employees.
The Nice establishment, for its part, ended its 2023 financial year with a loss of 3.8 million euros and a turnover of 2.5 million euros. It had 49 employees.
