Economy | Marseille: an innovative restaurant concept store takes over rue d’Aubagne

Will “La Maison des Nines” become the new HQ of Noailles, or even Marseille at all? In any case, this is what Annaëlle N’Kaoua, Estelle Billet and Claire Lombard are hoping for, three trendy young women who have a taste for female entrepreneurship. The latter have joined forces, their expertise and their experiences to emerge from the earth a project that is close to their heart: a place of life “hybrid and plural“to feel it”like at home“, in which ready-to-wear, perfumery, cosmetics, gastronomy and workshops will merge happily and intelligently.”Something strongly unites us: the desire to create social ties. We have this ability to bring people together, so we wanted to create a place where people can meet and spend moments together., book Claire Lombard in charge of catering management. Our dream is to be able to know the first names of our customers and to interact with them“Beyond the long-awaited social bond, Annaëlle, Estelle and Claire will offer in this place, with a unique experience, committed and responsible consumption.

An abandoned room of 130m² refurbished

To come to an end, the young entrepreneurs have set their sights on a 130m² room unoccupied and abandoned for eight years, located rue d’Aubagne. “We sadly know the rue d’Aubagne, but we want to make it known other than for the collapses. By settling in this district, we have chosen to offer things that are affordable in terms of price and above all, we are working a lot on partnerships with associations in the district. We will offer free workshops for children and adults. We have lots of ideas and lots of desire to bring this street to life and bring it to life. We are even thinking of greening part of the street to make it pretty“, says Annaelle N’Kaoua, in charge of events.

In this long room, the space will be separated into four rooms with different atmospheres: a kitchen section for breakfasts, coffee, lunchtime meals; a dressing room and bathroom for the boutique, managed from top to bottom by Estelle, which will bring together ethical jewelry, nearly 30 young confidential and committed French brands of ready-to-wear and natural cosmetics, but also and above all selective fragrances chosen with care by the young woman expert in this field. And finally, the place will have a dining room for cultural and solidarity workshops, and private dinners. “About once a week, we will bring in chefs from Marseille and France who will offer a unique menu for an intimate evening with a maximum of twelve guests, individuals or companies. People will be really alone in the ‘Maison des Nines’ with the chef“, explains Annaelle. For the moment, the young women wish to keep secret the identity of the chefs, which they promise”famous and coveted“.

Difficulties, but also a lot of support

The three “nines” (young women in Provençal editor’s note) have been working on this project, requiring 230,000 euros of investment, for over a year. “From a financial point of view it was complicated, and the Covid also made us fall a lot behind“, recognizes Claire. But ultimately, the young women say”lucky“because they were able to integrate and be laureates of incubator competitions supported by the BPI (Public Investment Bank of Marseille) and Nadia Hai, the Minister of the City.”We are delighted because we are very well received by other traders in the neighborhood, by street associations. The project is supported by the metropolis, the City. We were accompanied by many women. And it’s nice to see that the concept pleases“, rejoices Annaëlle.

To create the storefront and complete the interior design, they launched their campaign the crowdfunding which brought together 97 contributors in one week, “We’re starting to see the end of the tunnel, but there is still work to be done. In a month we should be on the arrangement. We want to be ready for spring, we can’t wait to open“, continues Annaëlle. And if the health crisis risks modifying their organization somewhat, that does not frighten them:”When we started, we did not yet know the virus, we told ourselves that anyway we would adapt“. The young entrepreneurs had already planned to offer take-away sales. They therefore intend to bet on it before being able to welcome customers in the room, they hope, by this summer.

Practical information : to contribute to the crowfunding campaign and help young women complete their project, visit this site www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/co-construisez-la-maison-des-nines – The Maison des Nines instagram account – The Facebook account