Are kebab lovers more civilized than average? Certainly, yes. As proof, the free distribution of a thousand kebabs in the greatest calm this Wednesday noon, rue de Clignancourt in the 18th arrondissement, when other events of this kind turned into a riot. Behind this enticing communication operation, the restaurant Les frères des Batignolles in the 17th arrondissement, an essential address in the district, which is therefore inaugurating a second establishment.
The story of this success story in white sauce goes back more than 30 years when Ibrahim and his wife Ayten, from the Ankara region, opened a kebab shop on rue des Batignolles in 1991. Then, there are about ten years, the business was taken over by their two sons, the aforementioned Batignolles Brothers, Ercan and Ozcan, who developed it despite legal disputes with their uncle. To stand out from the tough competition in the north of Paris, the family is betting on “a single product, the homemade doner kebab, explains Ercan. We don’t add topping like cheese, it’s really the kebab of the 1990s.
The “homemade” bonus
A radical bias that contrasts with the progressive diversification of kebabs that give way to tacos, burgers, double steak sandwiches – double cordons-bleus or even pizza. By concentrating on a single product, the two brothers emphasize quality and “homemade”, kebabs often having a bad reputation from this point of view. “We have our own baker to make our own bread, the fries are homemade and we prepare the meat on the spit ourselves with a special recipe”, boasts the eldest of the two brothers. Of course, this has a cost. Count 10 euros for the sandwich-fries menu + drinks when it is around 7 euros in other establishments.
Moreover, Benjamin, Sofiane, 23, came because “it’s free”. “They are good but a little too expensive, judge Sofiane, so we took advantage of the opportunity. » Sofiane is what we call a real fan of kebabs which he tastes at least once a day « even if he has slowed down lately ». “I’m going to take a sandwich just meat + sauce, without salad, tomatoes or onions, so in general, they put more meat”, explains our gourmet, quite proud of his trick. Residents of the 18th, the two friends waited half an hour before being served – “we are not complaining”, according to Benjamin – and were notified of the distribution on Snapchat.
The rapper Dinos, as a loyal customer
The two brothers massively used the networks to relay their communication operation. “We communicated via our subscribers, our community. it is the faithful who have come this afternoon. This is also why there are no problems in the queue, says Ercan. And we were relayed by personalities like the rapper dinosaurs. “It is also on her Instagram account that Jasmine became aware of the distribution. She came with Louise and Marie. If the three young women only eat kebabs occasionally, at the end of the evening, they devoured them during their studies “about twice a week”. “But we’re not 20 anymore,” breathes Marie, who intends to ask to put the fries inside her wholemeal-white-Algerian sandwich. “Have a taco! », the Jasmine room.
Almost at the end of the 60-meter queue, Emma and James, two students aged 23 and 21, are not afraid to wait. “We are used to queuing, it’s quite fast, frankly it’s not much,” James puts into perspective. And, it’s true that the dozen or so employees work hard to serve customers as quickly as possible. When he’s not greeting the faithful, Ercan lends a hand in the kitchen and claims to be able to prepare a kebab in less than a minute. On the point of being served, Bakary and Ismaël waited about twenty minutes because after all, as Ismaël says, “when it’s free, you can’t refuse”.