The beautiful tale of the Comptoir des Marronniers

The Bees went to interview Marjorie Koutnouyan, who opened the Comptoir des Marronniers, a restaurant in Vieux Lyon.

The Bees went to interview Marjorie Koutnouyan, who opened the doors of her restaurant located in the heart of Lyon, on rue des Marronniers, a stone's throw from Place Bellecour: the Comptoir des Marronniers. Here is her wonderful entrepreneurial story...

Claire Le Meur: How did the Comptoir adventure begin?

Marjorie Koutnouyan: It all starts with my mother. She had the brasserie at Espace Carnot and, much to her dismay, I didn't want to take over the business... It wasn't something that suited me. It was the tragedy of her life for a long time!

CLM: How long ago was that?

MK: That was in 2009. She sold the Espace Carnot, which she had bought in 1998.

CLM: In 2009, you couldn't have been very old to take over such a business?... The Espace Carnot is a sizeable establishment.

MK: I was actually 24. My father was a bit of a rogue who had told my mother "don't worry, I'm buying a hotel, I'll take care of everything and that's what I'll leave to the children as their inheritance". After two years, he had accumulated a lot of debt. At the time, I was working with my mother at Espace Carnot. The accountant alerted her to the financial problems the hotel was facing, telling her that if she put her daughter in charge of the hotel, she could turn things around. So, at 24, I took over the management of this hotel that was struggling, with 150,000 euros in debt, and I turned it all around.

CLM: What qualifications did you have at the time?

MK: A BTS in property. Then I had worked with my mother in the restaurant trade. My mother was very strict - like all parents who work in the restaurant business, nothing is given, you have to earn it. But that never stopped me from having a good life!

CLM: How many rooms did the hotel have?

MK: It was a 22-room hotel. The Hotel Soleil et Jardin in Solaize. We organised many seminars and worked a great deal with the chemical corridor.

Except that it didn't suit me: I had fired the night watchman so I was doing the nights. I also did breakfast, lunch service, dinner service and handled the overall management of the hotel.

CLM: It was non-stop!

MK: Yes, people would say to me "but when do you sleep?!". Sometimes, I did weddings, I served until 5am and at 7am, I was doing breakfast. However, I had told my mother "I've got the hotel out of the red, that's good. But I'm 24, I can't stay locked in here 24/7". So we sold. And my mother had told me "you saved the hotel, I'll help you buy a restaurant that suits you". With that, she sold her brasserie since I didn't want to take it over - she held it against me for 4 or 5 years (laughs).

CLM: And why didn't you want to take over the brasserie?

MK: The brasserie clientele isn't the clientele that appeals to me. It's a bit of a numbers game, money for money's sake. Food-wise, it remains brasserie fare. What I love here, at the Comptoir des Marronniers, is that it's a place where you eat well without it being stuffy. We are in the same category as the Bocuse brasseries but it remains convivial. That's what I wanted to do. So I looked for a restaurant to buy. I visited several. My mother was freshly retired and being retired didn't suit her at all. On my side, I couldn't find what I wanted. My mother said: "what if I give you a bit more and work with you at lunchtime, would that work for you?". I said OK. I was used to working with my mother. She therefore helped me so that I could buy a slightly bigger establishment, by coming to work with me.

CLM: That was a great offer!

MK: Yes, except that after searching without finding and waiting too long, I ended up seeing everything in a negative light. Nothing I visited pleased me, I was convinced it wouldn't work. I thought that since I had only ever worked for myself, learning on the job, it might be good for me to go and work for someone else. To see other working methods, discover things to learn. So I went to work at "Les Enfants Terribles", on rue Merciere. Then I went to work at "Le Bon Bourgeois", on rue des Marronniers, which was run by a friend of my father-in-law, who was then director of France-Boissons. For a Lyon local, it was shameful: I lived on Place Bellecour and I didn't know rue des Marronniers (laughs). The restaurant owner, Franck Baldassini, a member of the Toques Blanches Lyonnaises, was an extraordinary person who taught me a lot. He also owned the Comptoir des Marronniers, which he had bought from Jean-Paul Lacombe in 2009. Franck had a strong personality. He started by telling me "normally, I don't hire women, but you seem different, so I'll give it a try".

CLM: So you joined his team?

MK: Yes! It was going very well. One day, he asked me to go and help out at the Comptoir des Marronniers, located almost opposite, as they were short a waiter. Honestly, I pushed open the door and was captivated. I loved the atmosphere, I felt at home! He had just received a resignation... I asked to speak with him and explained that I would like to join the Comptoir team. He called me a traitor because I wanted to go and work across the road (laughs). I told him that since both restaurants belonged to him, it didn't change much... Except that he didn't like the Comptoir. I don't know why. He was having issues with the current manager who had to be away for a month and a half and he offered me the position. I said "OK, I'll take his position but I'll take his pay too!". We shook on it. After the month and a half, I told Franck that since he had two restaurants in the street, he could sell me one... He had only bought the restaurant barely two years before and so refused. I persisted. The manager came back and things weren't going well. Shortly after, Franck said "make me an offer!" But we couldn't agree on a price. And my relations with the manager became tense because he had learned I had made a purchase offer. So I was considering leaving, finishing the season and departing in September.

CLM: Did you actually resign?

MK: Yes! And I went to work at "Le Bistrot des Maquignons", on Grande rue de la Guillotiere. It was an extraordinary restaurant that turned over a great deal. I was very surprised to find such an establishment in that location. Then, from time to time, I would go back to see Franck... One day, he asked me if I still wanted to buy. I told him my offer still stood. We shook on it and he proposed we sign within the week.

CLM: And you managed to sign within the week?

MK: Yes, I put a bit of pressure on him (laughs). We signed at the end of September 2011 for an opening on 1 December, so that I could do the Fete des Lumieres on 8 December - it's a major moment of the year for a restaurant. That left October and November to launch the restaurant. I activated my entire network and we made it! It has been 11 years now. I managed to accomplish my dream!

CLM: Here, what is your clientele like?

MK: I have a large business clientele. Before Covid, I was at a ratio of 70% expense accounts. Now I've dropped to 50-60%.

But that's still a very significant proportion.

CLM: And when you arrived, in terms of the menu, did you change the formula or keep what was there?

MK: I kept what was there. I reworked the pork belly a bit, which is our speciality. We stick to modern Lyonnais cuisine. We are not a bouchon (a traditional Lyonnais bistro). We don't have the little lace curtains (laughs). It's good to keep traditions but we also have other dishes - particularly for the tourist clientele. You should know that rue des Marronniers is one of the oldest streets in Lyon. It was laid out at the beginning of the 18th century, when the buildings to the east of Place Bellecour were constructed.

CLM: And how did you go about building your team once the restaurant was bought?

MK: For the first 4 years, I was there 7 days a week, lunch and dinner. I only took one week of holiday a year - I would just close for the week of my birthday, 8 August! I built loyalty - I'm fairly sociable. I tried to stay ahead of problems, not wait for them. My teams saw me working alongside them and just like them. Today, in the dining room, it's me with two waiters during the week and I have an extra waiter at weekends. If it's busy, I run alongside them! Since the beginning, I've had three teams.

A team lasts about three years.

CLM: Why does a team only last three years?

MK: In our street, there's never a break... We are open every day. Sunday evening, for example, we did 130 covers. Monday, the same. You never know what's coming. So it's exhausting. Those who stay with me are real enthusiasts! My current team has been here for 4 years.

CLM: In total, between the kitchen and front of house, how many are you?

MK: 14 people. That's a nice team to manage. And I have just bought a restaurant across the road, "La Cantine des Lyonnais". My head chef and my sous chef have moved to this new restaurant and we are currently putting together a solid team. It's a demanding pace... You have to keep up! We have a quality obligation too. In Lyon, there are many restaurants where you eat well. We can't afford to welcome or serve people poorly. We work with quality products. Our vegetables, for instance, come from my brother, who does permaculture. Sometimes, we go ourselves to pick vegetables at his farm, Ferme de la Brochetiere in Dardilly, with my chefs. They cook it all that very evening! While in Avignon, for example, where I lived for a time, the restaurant scene was quite poor. It's easier to stand out. Also, we welcome guests until 10:30pm. That's quite rare in Lyon. And guests are treated just as well regardless of the time! I have complete trust in my teams for that. My other head waiter, Rafik, for example, had his own restaurant. We worked together at Le Bon Bourgeois. And he, like me, fell in love with the Comptoir des Marronniers, where he did his apprenticeship.

CLM: And how do you manage two establishments at the same time, even if they are practically opposite each other?

MK: I'm well surrounded... I have a wonderful team. As an anecdote, the Comptoir des Marronniers was one of the most popular restaurants before the war. To eat there, you had to queue all the way to the end of the street!

CLM: And what's next for this wonderful adventure?

MK: What's next... I have finally reached an agreement with my landlord to buy the premises! That's something I had been waiting for... My head chef is becoming associate front-of-house manager at the Comptoir des Marronniers, and across the road, at La Cantine des Lyonnais, the head chef is becoming associate head chef. Then, I think I'll carry on for another four or five years but I don't think I'll do more. I no longer have the same energy as when I was 30 (laughs). I'd like to go back into property and sell cafe-hotel-restaurants. Stay in the industry, in an advisory role, but without a completely upside-down lifestyle. I'm never in bed before 2:30am, almost 7 days a week. Because there's also all the management and invoicing work, after service... Even though I love work - and a job well done! I have loved every job I've done. But what's difficult now, for example, is not being able to find anyone to work... I'm very worried about the restaurant trade. The dining room doesn't worry me because I can manage service with students. For the kitchen, it's another matter... You can't run a restaurant without a cook, without a chef! If there's no knowledge transfer, the profession will die out... That's a shame because it's a fabulous profession.

CLM: And one in which you can be proud of a fine success!

MK: Yes, it's a fine victory and I fought for it. The Bees thank Marjorie for this fabulous story and recommend all food lovers make a stop at the Comptoir des Marronniers... The Bees, who support this outstanding business leader in the development of her projects, always find a good excuse to sit down at the Comptoir and savour the house specialities!