Neon lights, red tiles on the walls, benches and generous burgers: in the middle of the Latin Quarter of Paris, the decoration of Manhattn's Burgers gives the impression of having been transported to New York. For its third restaurant in the capital, the Belgian restaurant chain has offered itself a prime location: 10 place Saint-Michel. Precisely where one of the neighborhood's iconic bookstores, Gibert Jeune, previously stood. Enough to make local residents react.
The location was not chosen at random: it combines visibility and flow at lunchtime, and especially in the evening and on weekends, explains JĂ©rĂŽme Vandermeulen, co-founder of the chain. With already around ten restaurants to his credit, this entrepreneur is used to setting up shop in characterful places, such as in Ghent, Belgium, in a 13th century grain depot. Landing in a legendary old bookstore in the Latin Quarter didn't scare him. âThe first feedback is quite pleasant, because it was a bit of a problem for this place. So everyone is super happy that itâs opening and that itâs beautiful and warm,â assures the manager. The mayor of the 6th arrondissement, Jean-Pierre Lecoq, confirms having seen seven projects to take over the business, mainly from restaurateurs. The project of the two Belgian brothers is the one that best convinced the owner of the walls.
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âThatâs how it isâ
The fact remains that this change divides. Some regulars in the neighborhood, like Annie and Yvan, complain about it. Both studied here: âLosing a store like young Gibert is a shame. The neighborhood has deteriorated greatly, businesses have closed. So is a burger restaurant really necessary?â, they ask. Others are more pragmatic and welcome the news with lucidity: âI think it is better for the premises to be occupied, otherwise it will deteriorate. There are so many empty businesses in the neighborhood⊠Anyway, burgers here are all thatâs left,â sighs Jocelyne, a local resident. âOf course itâs good news,â says the mayor of the district. It is better to have a busy business than a closed shutter. The French read less and less and buy more and more on the internet. We may regret it, but thatâs how it is,â he pleads.
Jean-Pierre Lecoq recalls his wish to register the space as an international tourist zone, in order to allow traders to be open on Sundays. He also mentions an improvement in their situation thanks to the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris. The future of the neighborhood remains in question. âIâm waiting to see,â murmurs Kathy, a tobacconist not far from the new restaurant. Itâs true that Gibert was great, because there were a lot of people, students, people who came from all over Ăle-de-France. It brought us a lot of customers. Now that they are gone, itâs calmer.â A little further away, rue Danton, Alain and Martine are more direct: âItâs a shame, itâs still the Latin Quarter! Fewer and fewer cultural businesses, nail salons and burgers, thatâs not helping,â laments this retired couple, former residents of the neighborhood.
Also read Paris: will a Five Guys fast-food restaurant take the place of Gibert Jeune in the 5th arrondissement?
However, the memory of the Gibert bookstores, which once surrounded Place Saint-Michel, remains vivid. In 2022, the project to replace one of these establishments with a Five Guys fast-food restaurant had already aroused the ire of the mayor of the 5th arrondissement, Florence Berthout. This time, Manhattnâs Burgers wanted to pay homage to the famous chain in its own way, by offering a special burger on the menu: the âGibert cheese burgerâ. A wink that did not amuse the bookseller, laments the restaurateur: âIt would have been nice, because we contacted them, but they didnât want to. Instead, we put books from New York, in homage to young Gibert, in the restaurant,â he explains.
