You can own this restaurant for as little as 50 euros
Buying a restaurant for 50 euros sounds like a joke... But that's what the owners of the Pare-Faim restaurant in Uzos, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, are offering to find a buyer.
To find their successor, two restaurateurs, Carey and Vincent Lucas, have come up with a highly original method: a tombola. Here's all you need to know for gamblers and lovers of new challenges.
An ingenious, fun solution
At 61, Carey and Vincent Lucas dream of nothing more than retiring to enjoy their four grandchildren. But to do so, the restaurateur couple had to sell their restaurant Pare-Faim, in Uzos (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). A task that has proved more arduous than expected, due to a lack of financing. "We've been seriously preparing for our retirement for two years now, and trying to sell our restaurant. Seeing that there weren't any candidates running around (...), we thought we'd have to find a solution if we wanted to retire and allow someone to start up under the right conditions," Carey Lucas confides to France 3.
Their idea? Sell their establishment by buying shares at 50 euros each. Since gambling is prohibited, it was not easy for the couple to put this idea into practice. Today, however, the difficulty has been overcome, and all that's left to do is wait for the succession candidates.
A restaurant with many advantages
Le Pare-Faim is a restaurant in good condition, with no debts and no work to be done. "We've got a beautiful kitchen, a nice cold room and even the equipment to run a catering business, so it's really a great place to work," the current owner boasts to 20 Minutes. All in all, the owners point out that the restaurant has more than 80 covers on a 300 m² surface area, a clientele made up of 85% regulars, and annual sales in excess of €350,000.
No qualifications in cooking or business management are required to take over the establishment. What's more, "we'll offer the person concerned three months' support if they so wish", says Vincent Lucas. Another advantage is that the current team would like to remain working in the establishment. Some of them have even bought shares in order to become owners of the place.
3,000 shares to be sold
To take part, all you have to do is visit the restaurant's website before October 31 and subscribe to one or more shares. Then, in November, a draw will take place before a bailiff. The name drawn will become the owner of the restaurant, or can be passed on to the person of their choice. Win or give, it's up to the lucky person to choose.
To date, 300 subscriptions have been registered. For the project to go ahead, 3,000 shares will have to be sold to reach the sum of 150,000 euros. If this milestone is not reached, the operation will be cancelled and each participant will be reimbursed.
