For the past few days, the outdoor terrace, but also the nave, of the Saint-Nicaise church in Rouen have been accessible to guests. beer lovers until October 19. Saint Nicaise is one of four deconsecrated churches owned by the city. In 2019, after a call for projects, the municipality signed an agreement with the Ragnar brewery to transform the disused religious building into "the largest church-brewery in the world". The largest because of its height (30 meters), the oldest also because its foundations date back to 640 AD and probably the richest from a heritage point of view.
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The pop-up bar that opened in recent days is just a taste of what awaits partygoers in 2027. We will then find around a petrified tree, as around a village square, a beer production unit, a training center in zythology, in other words in "beer culture", a bar-counter, a general public restaurant type Norman broth and, upstairs, instead of the organ that will join the Saint-Esprit church in Paris, A semi-gastronomic restaurant that will merge Norman and Scandinavian cuisines as well as a boutique-museum.
"Outside," promises Pierre-Marie Soulat, founder of the Ragnar brewery, "we will create a landscaped garden and a bar on the terrace of the church. We will exploit the whole with about forty jobs to the key. The opening is planned for spring 2027. It will become a strong place, with a soul, a tone and an atmosphere. Classified as a historic monument in 2022, the Saint-Nicaise church, now saved, will become the property of the Ragnar Brewery in a few months.
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"With my associates, we wanted an atypical place to bring people around a beverage referring to the Norman identity," says Pierre-Marie Soulat, who opened in May 2019 a "buffer" production site of the Ragnar Brewery in Oissel, south of Rouen. That's when I came across the Saint-Nicaise church. We picked it up a few weeks before the release of our first brew, on March 14, 2020. But a few days later, the health crisis blocked everything," recalls the manager of Seine-Maritime's first brewery with 500,000 bottles in 2022.
To financially support the entrepreneur, the City of Rouen agreed to open an outdoor pop-up bar in the gardens from mid-July to mid-September 2020. "It's been a hit with consumers who want to be outside, who have a little purchasing power and want to party," continues Pierre-Marie Soulat. A second five-month season will be allowed in 2021, then a six-month season in 2022.
And it's gone again for a few days, with the opening of the nave of the church, in addition to the terrace. "The nave in raw version," says Pierre-Marie Soulat. We did a major cleaning, brought electricity and fire safety up to standard, installed a guinguette garland, set up a bar with taps and kegs in stand-up. About 200 people can now walk through part of the church before closing for major works. »
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The brewer sees it as "a tribute to this church that we discovered when it has been closed for years". A new episode in the long history that unites the Church and the monks to beer. After this new 2023 season, "we will enter the church-brewery phase," warns Pierre-Marie Soulat. In January 2024, the work, costing eight million euros, will begin in three identified lots: concrete for the modern structure, glass for the 600 m2 of stained glass windows and ashlar. Looking forward to 2027 for the rest of the festivities.
