Chez Tonton: “Being a caricature of a counter commentator…” How the bar became essential in the sports landscape of Toulouse

Last Tuesday, September 24, there were hundreds of people wearing a funny mask within the establishment in Saint-Pierre Square. A mask bearing the image of Léon Marchand, on the occasion of a “Tonton Marchand” evening organized by the legendary bar opened in 1979, to celebrate the Olympic success of the new world superstar from Toulouse. Sitting at a table at the back of the room, one of the customers does not have a mask. Léon Marchand himself, the most publicized man of the school year, came to enjoy this evening in the greatest simplicity, like anyone else.

“He had given us his agreement to organize an evening using his name and image, but on the big day we didn’t know if he would be there,” says Laurent Maffre, in charge of communications and events at At Uncle’s. The same morning, the four-time Olympic champion timidly asked if it was possible to have a table, so that he could enjoy “his” evening with his friends. “Obviously we said yes,” laughs the man who manages the bar’s social networks.

Also read:
VIDEO. Léon Marchand at the 2024 Olympics: “What’s his name? Marchand, is that it?” From Paris to Lille via Chez Tonton, “Léonmania” is underway

“He's amazingly simple, he stayed all night, he laughed with everyone and he left the way he came. Seeing a world superstar arrive at the bar with such simplicity was crazy.” A pilgrimage for the Olympic champion, like the arrival of the players from Stade Toulousain after each of their titles. Marchand's visit was also a fabulous publicity stunt for the establishment, which did not need that to be popular on social networks. Because in addition to being one of the emblematic bars of the Pink City, the name of Chez Tonton has made a place of choice in the algorithms of Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). With nearly 150,000 followers across all networks, “Pastis ô maître” radiates well beyond the banks of the Garonne.

An offbeat tone faithful to the spirit of the bar

The recipe: adopt an offbeat tone faithful to the spirit of the bar and comment on sports news with exacerbated and assumed chauvinism, in support of Toulouse clubs and athletes. To the point of becoming a sort of influencer who highlights the exploits of the city's athletes. Laurent Maffre goes back in time: “The initial idea when creating Chez Tonton's social networks was to remain faithful to the spirit of the bar and to be a caricature of a counter commentator: a guy who talks about sport without being an expert and who laughs about it while being self-deprecating. We talk about sport even though we are neither sporty nor expert.

He continues: “Finally, choosing sport as a playground seemed obvious to us. Historically, Tonton has always been a bar where we came to watch matches, the players from Stade Toulousain already came here to celebrate their titles. That said, if tomorrow it there is a researcher from Toulouse who makes a great scientific discovery, we will have the same enthusiasm to celebrate him.”

Also read:
Our most beautiful bistros: Chez Tonton in Toulouse, a pastis and rugby institution!

From 2018, the mayonnaise takes hold and Chez Tonton becomes inseparable from the sporting successes of the city of Violettes. And it is at the same time that the Stade players – who returned to the Brennus Shield during the 2018/2019 season – return (as tradition dictates) to celebrate their victories in Saint-Pierre Square before taking a ride on the little train . This hasn't happened since 2012 and at the time, Uncle didn't have his social networks.

The one who started as a waiter behind the counter at Tonton and the Color of the Panties savors success. “A lot of people got into the game, it had a snowball effect. Our goal now is no longer to advertise a bar but a place of entertainment. We want to entertain people at the same time. in the bar but also in other places starting with social networks The bar is not huge and as we cannot enlarge the walls, we enlarged the concept to have fun on the web and in others. places in Toulouse.” This is how we find Chez Tonton today near the Stadium and the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

On the Sept Deniers side, the bar exists thanks to a bodega and a special stand during four matches per season (this will be the case this weekend against Perpignan). A few years ago, there was a real desire from Stade Toulousain to rejuvenate its fan base, and it was only natural that they linked up with the popular student bar to remedy this. “For us, the idea was also to find an outdoor place to entertain the students and that made sense given the bar’s rugby past,” we explain from Saint-Pierre. This is how the “Tribune Chez Tonton” was born.

At the Stadium since this season

Since the start of the season, we have also found the happy team on the Stadium square for the Guinguette de Chez Tonton during TFC matches. “As far as Tef is concerned, having a tavern on match days is a logical continuation of everything that had been done with the club until then on social networks. Our relationship with the Violets was based on the virtual and it made sense to be present there.”

Also read:
The famous Toulouse bar Chez Tonton opens a tavern at the Stadium

And as football and rugby were not enough, the jokers at Chez Tonton can also boast of having organized a real kop of supporters in the middle of the Tour de France, on the slopes of the Col du Tourmalet in 2023. With a finish planned in Toulouse next summer, it is difficult to see the bar missing out on the event. From there to organizing a party on the heights of Pech David to encourage the runners? Answer next July.