Financial difficulties at all levels.
After the broadcast on Monday evening of a new episode of “Nightmare in the kitchen” on M 6, the owners of the walls of the restaurant presented are in turn calling for help.
Sylvie and Robert Besse count their money against the unpaid rents from Christian and Béatrice, to whom Philippe Etchebest came to help.
For their part, restaurateurs cite financial difficulties caused by an administrative error which delayed the opening.
Reached by telephone this Wednesday, March 13, Christian even recalled that he presented “all the guarantees” to the banks to obtain a loan and buy the business.
Nearly 20,000 euros owed to owners
Sylvie and Robert, retirees now living in Périgueux (Dordogne), ran the restaurant “Le Gabarrier” in Allas-les-Mines for 30 years.
A true semi-gastronomic institution, thanks to Robert, saucier chef.
The couple retired in 2016 and then resold the business while retaining ownership of the premises: the following restaurateurs bought the right to operate the premises, but owe monthly rent to Robert and Sylvie for the occupation places.
The latter claim to have suffered significant financial difficulties since May, the date on which restaurateurs Christian and Béatrice stopped paying them the rent due for the operation of the establishment.
“We're not after this couple, but we don't really understand the intervention of M 6, when the restaurant is not open,” Sylvie pleads to Le Parisien, this Tuesday, March 12.
The owners claim to have not been paid for 10 months, which Christian, the restaurateur and tenant, confirmed to us.
With a monthly rent of around 1,900 euros, this represents a shortfall of 19,000 euros for the couple, who only receive “1,500 euros of retirement together”.
They therefore rely on this rent to help them finance their daily lives.
“We have nothing against this couple, but we need this money to live properly,” insist Sylvie and Robert, now tenants of their place of residence.
An administrative problem which delayed the opening
Christian and Béatrice Baïetto, who currently run the establishment, bought it in February 2023. They acquired the business from a couple who previously ran the restaurant, between 2016 and 2022. As a result, Sylvie and Robert Besse n had no say in the strength of the guarantees presented.
“It’s a recovery of funds, so as long as the fund was repurchased, we did not have access to the file to know how it was financed,” specifies the retiree.
The restaurateurs had planned to open in April 2023, but their start of activity was delayed due to an administrative error made when compiling their file aimed at obtaining registration in the trade and companies register .
“Legally, we could not open until this was resolved, which took us until the end of June/beginning of July,” explains Christian Baïetto.
The establishment finally opened its doors on August 5, 2023, with opening “7 days a week” all month, then activity from Tuesday to Sunday from September to the end of October.
“At the beginning of November, faced with the lack of activity, we made the decision to open from Friday evening to Sunday evening, as we said in the show,” explains Christian.
Since Philippe Etchebest's visit in December, the restaurant has not reopened to customers, which is incomprehensible for the owners: “When we learned of the chef's arrival, we went there.
We weren't able to see him, but we asked production to be able to speak with someone to explain our situation,” reports Sylvie.
“We had a person from the channel on the phone who assured us that we would benefit from the economic benefits for the restaurant following the broadcast and that this would help resolve the situation.
But the restaurant is still not open!
», chokes the retiree.
A lack of activity on the show's advice
A decision to close that the two restaurateurs claim to have taken in concert with the show's teams, who are responsible for supporting establishments in difficulty: "We are helped for six months and we were advised not to open in January », explains Christian, due to the very low attendance in the Périgord region during this season.
They planned to reopen in February, but due to a lack of cash and money released by the bank, this was not possible.
“With the help of the show's team, we presented a financing plan to the bank for our reopening, asking them for the sum of 10,000 euros.
We still have no response, so the show advised us to use the fund,” explains the restaurateur.
They therefore launched a fundraiser on Monday evening to raise funds and hope to obtain the 10,000 euros they wanted to ask from the banks, in order to have “working capital” in their pocket to restart their activity.
This Wednesday morning, Christian spoke to Le Parisien about the sum of 1,100 euros collected so far.
On its Facebook page, the establishment published a message at midday Monday to indicate that it would reopen “soon”.
“We are aiming for the Easter weekend.
We will find a solution, we will still get there,” Christian insists on the phone.