Overdose or disenchantment? In Lyon, the craze for “food courts” suddenly falls back

Le Figaro Lyon

Food courts are no longer popular in Lyon. After Food Society left the Part-Dieu center last June without any real explanation, only two years after its opening, it was Food Traboule that announced that it was in receivership proceedings at the beginning of August. The place, located in the Tour Rose, a legendary institution in Old Lyon that once housed a Michelin-starred restaurant, will not have survived the post-Covid era. Opened in January 2020 by Tabata and Ludovic Mey, surrounded by a collective of local chefs, the food court offered “an accessible, innovative and festive gastronomic alternative through a “food court” supported by a generation of sparkling and committed chefs in a unique place dear to the people of Lyon”.

An unfavorable “conjuncture”

But the lockdowns came and after a very good start, several associated restaurateurs preferred to withdraw from the project. “Some people left slates, did not respect their notice periods and the lack of turnover was considerable”the Mey couple said in a statement. They have filled the empty counters to continue operating the premises before putting it up for sale in December 2023. While the place is of interest, real offers are slow in coming and Food traboule was placed in receivership at the beginning of August by the commercial court.

This announcement sounds like a real blow to the fashion for “food courts” in the capital of gastronomy. However, these places are meeting with success in France and Europe and this type of gourmet halls are opening almost everywhere. For Camille Carlier, head of the culinary press relations agency that manages the communication of Food traboule, the project was mainly the victim of a “bad luck” linked to an unfavorable economic situation. “When we opened, there was an hour’s queue every evening. But we had to close after two months because of the first lockdown and afterwards we were unable to capitalise on the initial momentum.”she continues.

What if Lyon didn’t like food courts?

More deeply, she sees in Lyon a clientele more demanding in terms of service and particularly attached to traditional restaurants. “In Lyon, we love food. But I think it’s a trend that we know at the national level. People want to be taken care of.”

Lyon resistant to the “food court”? Émeric Richard, co-founder of Nomad kitchens, which organizes the Lyon street food festival every year, the largest culinary street food event in France, does not believe in it: “Our event (which welcomed 52,000 people in 2023 for its 8^e edition, editor’s note) is proof of this”For him, the departures of Food traboule and Food society are above all linked to their locations. “A food court in a shopping centre is nonsense. As for the Tour Rose, it’s a place with a lot of character but perhaps too quirky and in a neighbourhood more for tourists than for the people of Lyon.”he analyzes.

Also readFood courts or the madness of gourmet halls

He assures him that there may be a future in Lyon for this type of place. His company is also interested in setting up its own «food court» in the capital of Gaul. But it is difficult to find the right place. “The problem in Lyon is the land. There are few places left with an industrial soul like you can find in Paris or Nantes. For me a “food court” must be hyper-accessible, easy to understand and not too expensive. If you get by for the same price as a classic restaurant it doesn’t work. On top of all that, you need a real cultural program.”concludes Émeric Richard.

A sort of Lyon street food festival open all year round. This is partly what the chef incubator La Commune offers, which, in addition to offering a culinary offer, regularly attracts visitors through numerous cultural events. The future of “food courts” in Lyon is therefore not so bleak, but the wave that carried them seems to have subsided.