The biggest trattoria of the Italian concept Big Mamma to conquer Marseille. After a grand opening night on Wednesday, The Splendido, a 1,400 m2 trattoria officially opens its doors this Friday. Tygrane Seydoux, one of the two co-founders, presents at 20 minutes the concept of Big Mamma, and the issues around this opening in Marseille.
Can you introduce us to the concept of Big Mamma?
With Victor, the other founder, we are crazy about Italy, where we often travel. In any trattoria in Italy, you eat very well, with good products, popular, authentic and inexpensive cuisine. But we noticed that Paris was flooded with Italian restaurants, but either they are good and expensive, or they are accessible but the quality is not necessarily there. So we wanted to do something simple, it’s the promise of Big Mamma, good, cheap, and which makes you smile.
How do you keep this promise?
The concept is based on several pillars, the first is food sourcing. We traveled all over Italy between 2013 and 2014, knocking on the doors of Italian producers in order to cut out all intermediaries, and seek out the best Italian products at the source. According to recommendations, or our own experiences. We have built a network of 200 producers, on the basis of a family cooperative, of artisanal products. If I have a problem with the mozzarella, I can directly call my producer who is 50 km from Naples. We have set up two logistics centres, one in Naples for products from the South, and one in Milan for products from the North, from where we have all the products delivered to our restaurants in Paris, London or Marseille. And this very good value for money is made possible thanks to the volumes we buy.
Your trattorias are also very colourful…
Yes, these are the other two pillars of the concept. Men, with a whole corporate culture based on values such as authenticity and meritocracy. We open the door to young people, our staff is mostly Italian but not only. For example, for Marseille, we injected Marseille blood into our staff. But the identity is really this Italian DNA, as soon as a client opens the door, they are offered a trip to Italy. And the last pillar is actually this experience part, we create very strong places, with an immersive design which is very important. Everything is homemade, we have our own design studio, and each project is different. They all have a particular DNA, with a restaurant, a design, a name, and a different direction. But always with the same value for money, and experience.
What are the particularities of Splendido, the trattoria opening in Marseille?
Le Splendido in Marseille is our 17th trattoria. Marseille is one of the cities in which we have wanted to settle for a long time. It’s the most Neapolitan city in France, we really like this joyful mess. We wanted to come to Marseille in an iconic site, but there was no real estate opportunity. Until we find this place, rue de la République, of 1,400 m2, which will make the Splendido the largest trattoria in Big Mamma with more than 300 seats. And several atmospheres, with a fairly strong trip to Italy. We are very excited because the site is exceptional, and we do not come to Marseille like elsewhere. We discover a city that has such an identity, such energy, with a particular soul. That’s why we injected a lot of Marseille blood. We are creating an institution that will still be there in thirty years. And in addition, we are opening our first burger restaurant at the same time, top-bunwith here too, the desire to offer products of better quality than elsewhere, with 100% French and organic products.
Isn’t it an additional challenge to settle in one of the most Italian cities in France?
Clearly, but we love going where there are Italians. We often have an Italian clientele and we have always had a warm welcome from them. Afterwards, we always try, and even more so in Marseille, to adapt to the city through little twists on our menu. We are going to work more with seafood than elsewhere, there will inevitably be a little more fish. The idea is that each card is different with local influences. We will also be offering a pastis cocktail.
Are you aware of the difficulties of rue de la République, with many businesses that cannot find their customers?
Of course we are aware of all this. We are happy to arrive on rue de la République, which is a magnificent street, and our corner corner is sublime. We are 150 m from the Old Port, in the heart of Marseille. We are convinced that, if we do things right, it will work. We work hard for that. And we will contribute to the development of the district. We have been in pre-opening for ten days and we have a sick reception. It’s great, we feel that there is enormous potential.