This new address in Bordeaux confirms the desire of hotel groups to invest in iconic places and “open up to the city. After the MamaShelter in the former Gaz de Bordeaux building, the Renaissance in the old silos of the Bassins à Flot or even La Zoologie in the former Naval Health premises near the station, Bordeaux has been welcoming FirstName since January 11, in an old tertiary building typical of the Mériadeck district. An establishment that is not just a hotel but also a restaurant, with the ambition of becoming a real spot for Bordeaux residents.
“We’re not talking about a hotel, but a place to live with 147 rooms above, and below it’s showtime, with the idea of creating a bubble of oxygen in Bordeaux”, says Eric Omgba, one of the three associates of the Alboran hotel group, which has just launched this new brand.
“Music is at the heart of this establishment”
The establishment has entrusted the design of the menu of its restaurant, the Bada, to the Basque starred chef Cédric Béchade, who pays particular attention to quality and seasonal products, and who will try to be present two to three times a month. . “At lunchtime we offer meat and fish for 18 euros, and we find the tapas bar [œuf mimosa au caviar de Gironde, rouleau de printemps façon Caesar…] to share, and in the evening we find our main dishes à la carte”, explains Ismaël Aykanat, catering director. Among the dishes, which range from 21 to 27 euros: black prince of Biscay pig cheeks, smoked sturgeon brandade, squid in ink…
The restaurant, open 7 days a week, has 60 seats, including a dining bar equipped with sockets to set up in coworking mode. The huge room created from scratch by the MHNA agency (Marc Hertrich and Nicolas Adnet), in a former open passageway, dazzling with light, is watched over by the benevolent gaze of BadaBoum, “giant teddy bear with a nod to the Bordeaux Mastiff “, who could soon become one of the most Instagrammed Bordeaux characters.
“Music is at the heart of this establishment,” continues Eric Omgba. Thus FirstName organizes DJ sets on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., and a live show on Sunday for brunch (36 euros) from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. artists, graffiti artists” assures Ismaël Aykanat.
“We fell in love with this atypical, even divisive building”
FirstName has invested in an emblematic place in Mériadeck, namely an old, very seventies tertiary building, all in concrete, as we find many in this piece of town created from scratch during the Chaban-Delmas era. “We fell in love with this building which is charismatic, atypical, even divisive”, confirms Eric Omgba.
A divisive building, like the district and its layout in slabs, loved or hated by the people of Bordeaux. And not especially known for being the place where we go out in Bordeaux today. “I think that’s going to change,” analyzes Ismaël Aykanat, “because the neighborhood is undergoing major restructuring, several establishments are being renovated, new businesses are going to open… And it’s still a neighborhood close to the city centre. Word of mouth is starting to work, especially for our Sunday brunch, even if it’s mostly neighborhood customers for now. »
The Alboran group, based in Bordeaux, wanted “absolutely a Bordeaux location”, and aims to open other establishments of this type in other large cities. “Millennials are looking for a certain quality of life and are abandoning the big cities, first and foremost Paris, to go and live in cities two or three hours from the capital by TGV, assures Eric Omgba. Uses have changed, and FirstName was created to provide places to live in cities other than the capital. »