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On Tuesdays, it's couscous." Every Tuesday evening, Malik offers a plate of couscous in his restaurant, located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. For free. "It's my way of thanking my customers for their loyalty," he says. And for good reason, every week the restaurant is packed. It is even better to arrive early to be sure to have your place.
Many addresses offer plates of fries when ordering a drink, or aperitivo in Italian restaurants. But some managers push the idea even further by offering a full meal. A practice that is not widespread, against the current of economic logic. Professionals in the sector are even surprised to learn of the existence of this concept. Like the Union des Métiers et des Industries de l'Hôtellerie (UMIH) which has, so to speak, never heard of it.
Inside his restaurant, Malik is busy behind his bar. Here, the service is done at the counter. He knows most of his customers, whom he does not fail to greet amicably. Under the red and green neon lights, the atmosphere is festive and the room is noisy: many young people, mostly students, come every week to the appointment. On the mirrors hanging on the wall are affixed many inscriptions: "We love you Malik", "To the best fries in Paris", ... Because in addition to couscous, charcuterie boards and homemade fries are offered at more than affordable rates.
However, you have to wait a little before being served the precious dish. It is later in the evening that we come to offer you two options: "With or without meat?". Once the orders are placed, you are served a generous plate of couscous, à la bonne franquette, accompanied by vegetables and a piece of meat.
"Since I started the couscous party, Tuesday is the best night of the week"
Free, yes, but not completely. As couscous is served in the evening, this leaves time to order a drink. But Malik does not hide it: "I offer to my customers in the restaurant, not to any passer-by". At less than four euros a pint of beer, the game is still worth the candle. The manager started this tradition in his former brewery next to a theater school. "I had all these young people who came to my bar all the time and attracted people," he says. To reward them, the restaurateur gathered them one evening and asked them what would please them. From there was born the idea of couscous, once a week, on Tuesdays, but at that time it was only intended for students of the school.
He then sold his business and set up a new restaurant after the covid crisis. The cook he hires knows how to make couscous very well but he wants to offer burgers and tapas, dishes more adapted to the clientele of the neighborhood. A few weeks later, he changed his mind and resumed this tradition but this time for all his customers. "It's a cost but I do it with pleasure and it benefits a lot of students," he explains. Even if he admits: "Since I started the couscous party, Tuesday is the best night of the week, apart from the weekend".
Malik isn't the only one offering free meals to his customers. It is possible to find other addresses, hidden in the capital. It is often the inhabitants of the neighborhood who know the vein. Places that remain discreet, where the good plan is exchanged only half-word, so as not to make the good deal known. Rabah is the manager of a small Parisian restaurant and wants to keep the location a secret. Upon reservation, he also offers couscous one evening a week, but only in winter. "It costs money but knowing that there is a couscous, customers will have an aperitif, drink a little wine," reports the restaurateur. With little space, this plan is mainly intended for neighbors: "It makes a good atmosphere in winter in the neighborhood".
See alsoCouscous classified as intangible cultural heritage by Unesco
"If the restaurant comes back in its costs, it's not a bad idea either"
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In a market in perpetual motion, with many openings, closures, ... Everyone racks their brains to have ideas and make a buzz, "says Benjamin Meiffret, director of the communication agency Divinemenciel. In marketing, offering a meal is more of a spontaneous and isolated strategy. "We've done it for street food brand launches and inaugurations, for example by offering pizza for the first 200 customers," he explains. But this method has limitations. "It's a strategy that can go viral and make noise, but it's aimed at a target of customers who don't always have the biggest budgets," argues the branch manager. On the other hand, doing it on weekdays like Tuesday makes it easier to fill the restaurant, on a usually quiet day.
At Le Grenier, located in the 11th arrondissement, Assen also offers couscous on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as Mergez frites on Thursdays. "It became a habit, we started like that," he explains, "it makes the place known and it's a good for a good." However, it has become a custom, the manager thinks of stopping this offer soon, because "times change," he confides. The place, which once organized concerts, has since stopped due to neighborhood concerns. Some addresses have already stopped offering dishes on certain evenings of the week, especially since covid. This is the case, for example, of the Belgian Broth, which offered a plate of mussels and fries on Wednesdays. "Going as far as free is not a sound and reliable economic logic in the long term," says the director of the agency, "but if the restaurant returns to its costs, it is not a bad idea either." Malik, for his part, is not about to stop there.