Two restaurants in one. This is the fairly new concept that has just emerged in Rennes. We owe it to two restaurateurs, Aurore Erceau and Cécile Lefèvre, who have shared the same establishment for a few days, located at 43 rue de Dinan, below the famous Place Sainte-Anne. For Aurore Erceau, the formula does not change. Manager
from Copain Copine since 2014, the restaurateur continues to open her establishment from Tuesday to Saturday noon, offering her customers traditional market cuisine.
But since Tuesday, his restaurant, which has around twenty seats, has taken on the Italian accent. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, it’s Cécile Lefèvre who sits behind the stove to offer at Paola a Casa good little dishes from the boot. “It’s like a shared apartment,” emphasizes Aurore Erceau. We share a place and we bring it to life with each of our culinary identity ”.
“I did not see myself taking over a business,” says Cécile.
Before embarking on this adventure, the two women already knew each other well after having worked together for five years at Café Breton, a well-known address in the Breton capital. One continued on by opening the Copain Copine when the other ran a bookstore-tea room for a few years before taking a ten-year break. “I took the opportunity to resume my studies by obtaining a license in Italian and a master’s degree in art history,” explains Cécile Lefèvre.
Over the years, however, he began to miss catering. “But I didn’t see myself taking over a business,” she says. It seemed to me far too ambitious at my age ”. A friend they have in common then slipped her the idea of having a roommate with Aurore. “We had never heard of such a concept but it quickly got us excited,” said the latter.
Each has its own menu and turnover
In return for the payment of rent, she therefore agreed to entrust her restaurant to her former colleague three evenings a week. “I made the choice to only open at noon for my family balance so that does not change anything for me”, assures Aurore. After the end of her shift, around 4 p.m., she now passes the baton to Cécile with whom she shares her kitchen, her utensils and even her fridge. “But the two restaurants are quite distinct, each with their own cards and turnover,” emphasizes Cécile.
To mark the difference between the two addresses, each evening she will bring a little touch of Italian decoration and will set the tables as she pleases with her own glasses and napkins. “On the other hand, she will not have time to repaint the storefront or to change the sign every evening”, smiles Aurore, who hopes that this “intelligent sharing” will bring them both new customers.