At first, it was a mobile butcher…
Imagine a mule pulling a horse-drawn carriage through the alleys of the city of the Dragon. Father of five children – four boys and a girl – it is Joseph-Barthélémy Billeton who holds the reins.
At the end of the war, in 1918, the Dracénois decided to anchor his business in Les Arcades, rue Pierre-Clément.
The clientele is there, and the establishment, which offers excellent meat, prospers in the continuity of the family.
A family story
Proof of this is four generations later, these black and white photos hung above the refrigerated display case.
“The little boy you see is my father Bernard”, explains Baptiste Billeton, 45, the last of the line to run the shop.
After training as a cook, the Varois is indeed interested in the profession of butcher.
He was first a chevillard – slaughterhouse wholesaler – then took over the family business:
“It was in the genes”. [Rires]
“The butcher shop is 105 years old! I took it over from my uncle Claude in 2018. He had a loyal but already quite old clientele.”
Homemade charcuterie… At 95%
Free-range calves reared under the mother, lambs from Quercy, free-range pigs from Béarn, etc. Over time, quality products fill the butcher’s stall.
Associated with the professionalism and know-how of the family, they will make the reputation of the small business in the city center.
It must be said that the latter takes advantage of a privileged location, near the market square.
“Here, the charcuterie is 95% homemade” (see below) details the Dracénois butcher.
At first, it was a mobile butcher…
Imagine a mule pulling a horse-drawn carriage through the alleys of the city of the Dragon. Father of five children – four boys and a girl – it is Joseph-Barthélémy Billeton who holds the reins.
At the end of the war, in 1918, the Dracénois decided to anchor his business in Les Arcades, rue Pierre-Clément.
The clientele is there, and the establishment, which offers excellent meat, prospers in the continuity of the family.
A family story
The crises follow one another
He remembers: “In the 1980s, there were more than twenty butchers, pork butchers and tripe makers in the neighbourhood. Now there are three of us… And it’s complicated!”
And for good reason…
Yellow vests, the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation due to the war between Ukraine and Russia… The storefront food trade is suffering “crises”… full force.
“We take it as a failure”
“Even if we remained open, we felt a big drop in attendance at the end of the Covid”, explains Baptist. “I recovered the clientele of the center, but I lost those who were more distant.” He pursues: “People have adopted other habits, those of going as simple as possible, and as close as possible.”
Also in question, the increase in raw materials, energy and the cost of gasoline: “We talk a lot about bakers, but we too are impacted!”, observes Baptiste.
And the ax fell, in February.
“The moment comes when we have so many charges that we can no longer pay.”
Father of two boys for whom he is responsible, the man is forced to lower the curtain.
In April, he faces a receivership.
“Personally, we take it as a failure, even if we are not responsible for everything”, analyzes the butcher.
In this complex situation, such a godsend, Baptiste Billeton receives financial support from his relatives. “They gave me a helping hand to restart. “
On May 5, after two months of closure, the merchant was able to reopen his century-old butcher shop, to the delight of his loyal customers. (see below).
Reluctantly, however, he considers parting with Vincent, his only employee: “I’m going to have to work alone, no choice, we have to reduce the charges.”
He makes every effort, and still wants to believe in a better future: “I keep the hope of being able to hold on.”
We wish him good luck.
“We tried everything. We come from Tourtour to buy meat”
“A piece of galinette? (1) It’s melting, it’s extraordinary Jean, you’re going to enjoy it!”.
It is 9:30 a.m. this Friday when Baptiste Billeton, in the shop since 6:30 a.m., expertly offers quality merchandise to his first-time customers.
Jean-Marie and Jaqueline Walterspiler have been faithful for more than 50 years:
“We knew grandmother Lucette who ran the cash register, she wrote cookbooks. We love this butcher’s shop so much that we come from Tourtour to buy meat, testifies the couple, in turn. It’s the best in the area, we’ve tried everything… There’s no comparison!”
Like many other customers, they suffered the temporary closure of the food trade:
“We struggled, we weren’t happy. We came every week to see if there was anything new.”
A tailor-made butcher’s shop
For her part, Denise, from Dracénoise of Parisian origin, is also a regular at the place. And this for more than twenty years.
“I knew Uncle Claude, she remembers. This level of meat, you can only find it here. Those who say it’s expensive are wrong. Here we have quality. There are things, like kidneys for example, that you can’t find elsewhere.”
Baptiste savors these compliments: “It’s a tailor-made butcher’s shop for customers” he continues, smiling.
A little later in the morning, in his laboratory located a few meters away, the specialist monitors the cooking of his hams in large pots.
The scent of broth perfumes the room: “To make a cooked ham, it takes about ten days. A week of salting and 12 to 14 hours of cooking in broth. find no other!” exclaims the professional, aware however that eating well necessarily has a cost.
1. Muscle or cut piece of beef next to the shank
#hope #hold #Billetton #butchers #shop #reopened #Draguignan
