Three cafes, a restaurant and a grocery store brightened up the daily life of Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon... until the mid-1980s. Today, the 2,300 inhabitants of this town near Giverny (Eure) no longer have any local commerce.
A heartbreak for Philippe Doom, who has been trying, since his election as mayor in 2020, to revitalize his city center.
“We have our citizens, but also a large activity area where employees do not always know where to go for lunch,” explains the mayor.
So, when the property located at the corner of rue du Montmerel and rue du Val d'Any, a few meters from the church with its twisted bell tower, was put on the market, the municipal council jumped at the opportunity and asked immediately an authorization for drinking establishments.
“It was originally a bar-grocery store-restaurant opened at the end of the 19th century.
In 1981, it was closed, because the manager retired without a successor.
After work, in 1985 it became a large accommodation,” explains the elected official, who intends to restore it to its original function.
Read alsoThe mayor-builder of Eure himself renovates a premises to offer his village a food business
Purchased for 300,000 euros, a sum financed by a loan, before “the intervention of craftsmen”, the premises have already been invested to carry out initial work, including the opening of a door for people with reduced mobility.
“I have already collected the counter of the future bar, the tables and the chairs from a bistro which closed in Pacy-sur-Eure.
It is equipped with an Old Rouen style beer tap.
We will invest a little over 100,000 euros to renovate the restaurant rooms which will include around thirty tables, the winter garden, the kitchen and the toilets.
Our goal is for the site to be delivered for opening at the end of the year.”
“The selected candidate will only have to open”
The municipality is now seeking to attract the future owner of the premises: “we already have several candidates.
I would like it to be a family, because above the business there is an accommodation with several bedrooms.
The selected one will only have to open, everything will be functional.
We will also see to have authorizations for tobacco, newspapers and games.
Then, if he wants to do some grocery shopping, it will be up to him to do the legwork.
It would be good for local producers.
If the trader is hardworking, he can only succeed.
In return, he will pay the town hall rent, but we offer him five months upfront to give him time to get his bearings and find customers,” indicates Philippe Doom.
Emboldened by this first project, the town hall is already imagining the creation of three lodgings in the old stables of the town “to offer a stopover for tourists who come to Giverny, the Château de Gaillon or even Château-Gaillard”.