Goodbye to the Grande Brasserie, welcome to Café Marcel and its quality ice creams on the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier

Marcel Salerno et le glacier Philippe Faur, entre Prosper et Maxime Masquelier dans leurs futurs locaux. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

En lieu et place de l'ex-Grande Brasserie, les trois entrepreneurs montpelliérains installeront un glacier en s'appuyant sur l'une des références en la matière en France. 

An ice cream parlor on the Place de la Comédie. This is an idea that sounds obvious and which will soon see the light of day in place of the old Grande Brasserie. At the helm, three of the strong men of this type of establishment in Montpellier: Marcel Salerno, who owns around twenty businesses in the Ecusson, including the & #39;ex-"GB" SO. For operation, place to Prosper and Maxime Masquelier. They already had the Pampa, the Théâtre brasserie, the Bains…, so from now on there will be the Café Marcel. If the address is Passage Lonjon, the terrace is well known on the Comédie, between the Riche and the Gaumont.

A family story

"Why Café Marcel ? But because Marcel Salerno is an emblematic figure of the city, underline the Masquelier brothers. And then it's a first name that sounds good, in an address that we want to be elegant. And it was also the first name of our paternal grandfather." Between these three, it's almost a family affair. Together, memories emerge. It was in this brewery that the parents of Prosper and Maxime met, when Marcel Salerno was the boss, he had hired the grandfather. Here again, the union between these three entrepreneurs appears natural. With everyone having a common goal: high-end.

High end

"When I closed the Grande Brasserie, I wondered what to put in its place, confides Marcel Salerno. What is missing in the city, on the Comedy ? A quality ice cream parlor-tea room!" He first turned to Ladurée. And then Ariégois Philippe Faur, one of the national references, ;#39;is imposed. "It will be different from industrial menus, international ice creams, we will have French artisanal ice creams." In charge of operations, Prosper and Maxime also see the big picture. "It's a crazy location, likes Prosper.We want to do something elegant on the most beautiful square in the city." Except that the furniture and equipment will very quickly be imposed by municipal specifications . Future bosses are therefore thinking about how the servers should behave. Mandatory bow tie ? To discover from the beginning of May.

Gault et Millau and European champion

"My workshop is at the foot of the Pyrenees, in Saint-Girons, in Ariège, underlines Philippe Faur, the ice cream master whose flavors will be sold at Café Marcel. I want to make ice cream as natural as possible, without additives or anything like that." 

Man wants to be demanding. Listed among the best ice cream parlors in France by Gault et Millau in 2012, the European champion of frozen desserts in 2015 will offer at the Comédie a menu of a dozen cuts and 25 flavors, vanilla of course , with milk flower. And maybe even some salty ice cream…

I subscribe to read more