On his little platform in the middle of the restaurant, in front of the journalists, the entrepreneur Yann Bucaille shouts a strange victory. “ Opening on the Champs-Élysées is a victory for fragility and regained dignity. We are going to give another beautiful image of France on this avenue to the 100 million annual passers-by. With these words, we suspect that Café Joyeux, the chain he runs, is not a restaurant brand like the others. Boast of fragility? It prides itself on having 55 mentally or cognitive disabled team members out of its 85 employees, not counting jobs in partnership with social associations. The store on the Grande Avenue Parisienne is the fourth opening of the network (not counting a coffee sales website). Benefiting from a free lease by Groupama, it will be open from March 10 until this summer at least.
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Will the majority of foreign tourists who usually wander the legendary route manage to make themselves understood by the waiters to order the dishes on offer - quiches, salads or fresh pies? " They speak a universal language: they smile ", sweeps the chef who goes on to underline the feat that his staff already achieves in Rennes, Bordeaux and in the Parisian district of the Opera, by " creating activity for the disabled in the heart of town. It is extremely rare ”. Do people with Down's syndrome, autism or other cognitive impairments come across them in aprons, preoccupied with serving as pleasantly as possible, before running back to the kitchen? Obviously, no. Not enough not to appreciate the atmosphere of Café Joyeux: there is a curious mixture of concentration, desire to do well, joke and potential mischief.
And of course, they seem " happy ", these teammates, blissful at the words of " Yann ". They know that he and his wife Lydwine are the keystones of the adventure. But by dint of being enhanced, of being told that they create value like any good employee, they have realized their importance. And want to show their seriousness once again. A team member frantically passes his rag over a barely released table. Another, Abou, gives his impressions from the tribune. The new restaurant? " Too good ", even if he will regret his friend Marie, who stayed in the one on rue Saint-Augustin.
Pitch and free architects
For all, the project fell as a good surprise, even if for a long time Yann Bucaille wanted to strike the spirits with a symbolic address. Lætitia Georges, at Groupama Immobilier, underlines that everything was done quickly. “ I knew them and I already bought their coffee. When I spoke with Yann, the idea came to us to set up a Happy Café in this shop [around 300m² with a mezzanine] ", free until summer, before work begins to transform the building in a hotel. " The group immediately approved the project ."
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The architectural firm also mobilized free of charge. At Le Figaro , Philippe Chiambaretta says that his team has drawn up distance plans, in a month, before the previous brand leaves. The work was then completed in 5 weeks. " We wanted to go quickly to allow the cafe to have as much time as possible on the avenue ." From a financial point of view, the ease of the operation is disconcerting. " It's surprising: when you redefine an economic project based on concrete benefits of this type, great generosity is immediately put in place, " says Lætitia Georges.
Read also: At Café Joyeux, disability becomes the recipe for good humor
Yann Bucaille nods and does not leave for a moment his radiant expression and his gaze turned to the peaks. To manage this strategic address, he also relies on a rigorous manager. Sébastien Blanchet, calm and concentrated, prefers to say in a touching pout that he " begins to believe in this adventure ". Confidence reigns: supported by a philanthropic Foundation that multiplies partnerships (and interests the Élysée), convinced by customer testimonials, Café Joyeux has allowed itself to hire its 19 new team members from the Champs-Élysées on an open-ended contract , despite the short-lived restaurant. Other openings are to be expected; other jobs for the disabled, other jokes.