Dijon's Cité de la Gastronomie: The Village Closes Its Doors After Four Years

The Village at the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin in Dijon ceased operations on Wednesday, October 7. The company had been under court-supervised restructuring since August 25. A total of five establishments are affected by the closure: La Cuisine Expérientielle, Le Manège à Moutardes, La Gloriette, Meurette et Persillé, and La Planche. The bakery and pastry shop Le Moulin, the gourmet bookstore, and the movie theater remain open.

A Dream of Gourmet Districts

It all began in November 2010. The French gastronomic meal was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. An idea emerged: to create districts dedicated to the art of dining “made in France.” After two years of construction and several delays, the Cité was finally inaugurated on May 6, 2022. One year after its opening, the city reported approximately 840,000 visitors—falling short of the hoped-for one million—citing difficulties at the movie theater.

The Village had been conceived as a gourmet market featuring a greengrocer, butcher, fishmonger, cheesemonger, a grocery store specializing in mustard, tableware shops, and a restaurant. Behind this project was developer William Krief of the K-Rei Group, who came from the real estate industry and had assembled a team of twelve “Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” (France’s Best Craftsmen).

Very quickly, the restaurant aspect took over, with tables lining the aisles like in a food court. In December 2023, Meurette et Persillé, run by Dijon-based chef Florent Colombo, replaced the greengrocer. In 2025, the butcher shop and fish market became restaurants, and La Cuisine Expérientielle switched to a soup-based menu. These adjustments were not enough.

Warning Signs

However, Le Village was not the first warning sign. In December 2024, the luxury hotel project led by Hilton was halted after the operator was placed in bankruptcy. The Ferrandi school then had to revise its offerings due to a lack of profitability, and the Librairie Gourmande issued a call for help in January 2026 because of excessively high operating costs. In April 2026, three establishments belonging to the Épicure group—La Table des Climats, La Cave de la Cité, and Le Comptoir de la Cité—were placed in judicial liquidation.