Client Interview: Vincent QUENIN, Manager of the Bistrot du Paradou

A reopening under the sign of optimism: Having closed the shutters three months ago, he was eagerly waiting for his come bck. So were the customers.

Since June 2nd, the Bistrot du Paradou, an “institution” in the Alpilles, has been back on tracks. Vincent Quenin, who has been at the head of the restaurant for ten years now, is approaching the reopening with delight and optimism.

It’s a beautiful building, almost 200 years old, located on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. A former post office strategically located at the crossroads of Arles and Salon-de-Provence. Renovated and transformed into a restaurant in 1984, Le Bistrot du Paradou has since become a true “institution” in the region. An “anti-democratic restaurant”, as its current manager Vincent Quenin likes to call it. “I’ve been working here for 23 years and I still get the same energy from it. I love and cultivate its simplicity. All social classes, all cultures, all nationalities mixed here.” A great strength that enabled the Bistrot de Paradou to overcome the crisis and to be fully booked as soon as its reopening. “I even welcomed people from Marseille the first week, even though Marseille is a 100 km from here!” Even if he says he is still waiting for tourists, Vincent Quenin is delighted that the “locals” have responded without stress or psychosis. “We feel that people want to get back to a normal life, to see friends and family again.”

And on top of that, the gel smells good!

Despite a failed start of the season, Vincent Quenin is approaching these first pre-summer weeks with optimism. Of course, the ten employees of the Bistrot du Paradou wear a mask and sanitary protocol is respected. “Thanks to Smartclic and its sales consultant Olivier, I can see that my customers are finally excited to have found a hydroalcoholic gel that smells good! “The Bistrot de Paradou has been a loyal customer of the agency for more than five years and has used the preventive range to face the crisis. “Once again, I was able to count on their reactivity and professionalism. They know how to establish a relationship based on trust. It is a partner that I recommend with my eyes closed. With Smartclic, I never had any surprises. Or only good ones! “The polo shirts and sweaters with the restaurant’s logo, gifts that the restaurant likes to offer its customers and uses as advertising objects, are also very much in demand. “In addition to being beautiful, they are made with very good quality. It’s much more effective than a page of advertising in a magazine. »