without a buyer, Bonnet, delicatessen caterer for three generations, closes shop in Besançon

The store was there for 56 years. A page is turning in Besançon (Doubs). On November 6, regular customers of the Bonnet family business received an SMS to announce the closure of the store in the Battant district at the end of the month. Regrets, nostalgia, inevitable decision… Encounters.

About twenty days before the announced closure. There are crowds inside the Bonnet family business. The big day crowd. The one who had deserted the store lately. The one that could have given new impetus to the company and increased turnover. Because that’s what it’s all about. The financial loss has been 20 to 25% for some time, and this is no longer sustainable. But that is not the only reason.

Several reasons led to the closure

Philippe Bonnet, the current manager and the third Bonnet to hold the reins of the place, is very busy this morning, but between two customers, he explains:

There are several factors to the closure. The first is the evolution of society. And then there is the drop in turnover, the difficulty in recruiting and our age too.

Philippe, manager of the Bonnet Butchery-Charcuterie-Caterer

With his wife Jacqueline, there is no question of incriminating anyone in particular. It's not the style of the house, and above all it's not fair.

It is true that the Battant district located on the edge of the Doubs loop has changed recently with retractable access terminals which surround it. Philippe Bonnet is categorical, this is not why his business is closing. He even notes that the neighborhood has become more pleasant since then.

Rave and saddened customers

There are queues everywhere in the store; on the catering side, the butcher's side and at the cash register. The phone keeps ringing. “Can you pick up and hang up” proclaims Philippe Bonnet hoping for a little calm. Now is not the time for discussion among employees, but for sales. Especially since the announcement, it hasn't stopped. Customers, since they received the message of the store's closure, have been coming to redeem their loyalty points. In the queue, they exchange.

Marie-Josephe Sauvageot is from Bisontine. She has been shopping at Bonnet for over 40 years. Like many others, she knew Philippe's father, Bernard. She had heard rumors of a possible closure, but she didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

My parents were already customers. For me it's very convenient to come here, I've known the people for so long. It is with great regret that I see the closure.

Marie-Josephe Sauvageot, 73 years old, customer for over 40 years

Alberte lives further away, she lives in the Jules Haag high school area. It is important for her to keep businesses alive. So, she goes down several times a week to do her shopping downtown. She prefers to eat less meat, but eat good meat.

It's worrying to think that we're no longer going to find welcome and quality. You have to live with the times but it's a shame. Bonnet is a pillar, like Baud the pastry chef.

Alberte Blanc, a regular here

Baud in fact, another customer Véronique Faivre will go there after leaving Bonnet to comfort herself. The news of the closure hit him hard. “It’s catastrophic” she tells us. She comes from the hill of Bregille regularly to shop here. She appreciates the quality of what she buys, the seriousness of the store. She particularly likes to see the butchers at work. “It’s an art”.

Philippe's grandfather was the pioneer of this institution. In 1932, he opened his business at 8 rue Marulaz, a stone's throw from the current store. Manufacturing and sales were then managed in the same place.

His son Bernard, Philippe's father, took over in 1968. He needed more space and bought at 4 rue de la Madeleine.

In 1970, the laboratory was established in Époisses in the Planoise district. The business is thriving. She works in particular for collective catering.

Philippe arrived in 1981. Everything went wonderfully for many years. Today it's no longer the same music. The company has become too big, too obsolete and employees no longer have the same expectations.

Before when I started a team, it lasted 15 to 17 years. But things have evolved. People want to be free today.

Philippe Bonnet talks about the difficulties in recruiting, the technological leap that overwhelms him, the paperwork that overwhelms him, the uncertainty that has crept in, the excess of everything that he no longer wants to take on. “We have a fragile job” he tells us. Man is not invincible either.

I have been looking for a buyer for five years. My children are not taking over. And without a recovery solution, it’s closure.

A page is therefore turning, for the Bonnet family first and foremost, for the customers too, new habits will have to be adopted. Nothing is forever. But life goes on.

The delicatessen and catering laboratory will continue its activity, with 5 or 6 employees. Sausages from Morteau, Toulouse, chipolata, merguez and all cold meats will be sold via mass distribution, through works councils or associations. It will therefore always be possible to taste products made in “Bonnet” in Besançon.