Large format. In Orne, Anaïs runs one of the only mobile grocery stores in France

“You would have sardines.” This Friday October 11, 2024a small white truck attracts the attention of residents in front of the church of Vieux-Pont, about twenty kilometers from Argentan (Orne).

In this rural commune of 199 inhabitantsthe shops have long since lowered their curtains. Until last September, not a resident would have bet the slightest coin on the reopening of a business. Not even the mayor, Daniel Berrier, condemned like his fellow citizens to travel five kilometers to get supplies.

And yet. For a month, a small mobile grocery store sets up shop every Friday morning in the town. At its head: Anaïs Surville, a 38-year-old from Caen.

The only mobile grocery store in Normandy

Every week, aboard her truck, she crosses around fifteen villages in Orne and Mayenne. Objective : bringing new life to communities without commerce.

I live in a small town where there is nothing within three kilometers. My older neighbors are regularly at a loss due to the lack of stores. There was a real niche to be seized for local commerce.

In Normandy, Anaïs is the only one to offer this type of service. She is even one of the only itinerant grocers in France. A source of pride for this former training center assistant. “I still remember the ice cream man who came to my house when I was a kid. I always dreamed of doing this.

“This grocery store brings life to the village”

This Friday, it’s not ice cream but Beaufort sausages which she places prominently in her small window. A paid choice, that’s precisely what Josette, a sixty-year-old, came to look for. “That will be seven euros,” says Anaïs.

In each village crossed, the shopkeeper receives a visit fromaround ten customers. “I’m not going to come and do all my shopping here, but this helps», Indicates Christine Lavannier, resident of Vieux-Pont. Isolated in the countryside, she comes here for the first time.

A business like this is essential for us. This grocery store brings life to the village.

An “essential” activity for older people

It is not Danier Berrier, the mayor of Vieux-Pont, who will contradict her. “When Anaïs asked us to come to our home, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. People are happy to see a business come back to the village” .

Especially since the grocer also offers home deliveries. “It’s essential for our elderly people,” emphasizes Daniel Berrier.

And this, even if young people also let themselves be seducedby this itinerant trade. “Many families ask me to do their shopping in the evening,” notes Anaïs Surville.

18 months to make a recipe

In one month of activity, the grocer has already changed her route several times. “I preferred to give up in certain towns due to the lack of customers.”

With his 30% margin on each product“slightly more than in supermarkets but less than in grocery stores”, it currently ensures the reimbursement of its charges.

I’m giving myself eighteen months to make a living from it. I firmly believe in this project.

In the meantime, she will continue to travel the country roadshis hand on his horn, aboard his little white truck.

Anaïs Surville, 07 83 03 99 36.

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