Bakers have spearheaded the fed up of craftsmen who are bearing the full brunt of the explosion in energy prices. In their wake, many other professions cried out in distress. Garage owners, glassblowers, butchers, restaurateurs… All have seen the amounts of their electricity or gas bills increased by several zeros. Very fashionable, the street-food sector is not spared, however, especially in Lille, where kébabiers watch their spits turn with concern.
He may have been crowned best kebab in France three times, Daniel Nouri, the boss of Pacha, in Saint-André, is not serene: “I am paying 2,800 euros every two months. And again, I have a city gas contract at a fixed price for another year, ”he explains. And after ? “If it increases further, it will be complicated. We don’t know if we’ll still be here,” he said.
“We live in a hellish time”
Simon Thieffry, owner of Tummy, could not imagine what was going to fall on his head when he opened his establishment a little over a year ago, boulevard Jean-Lebas, in Lille: “After the works and the standards, it was already 60,000 euros more outside the forecast. Add to that all the increases, raw materials, energy, we are living through an infernal period, ”breathes the young 32-year-old entrepreneur. Him, it is by four that his energy bill has been multiplied, from 300 to more than 1,000 euros per month.
For these craftsmen, there are few levers to absorb the cost increases. “I did everything to maintain my prices. I don’t pay myself, I’m looking for products that allow better margins, specifies the manager of Tummy. Except that’s not enough. And rather than scratching on the quantities served, Simon Thieffry resolves to increase his prices.
“The cost of reversing is too high”
“We are not independent traders, but the restaurant as such is impacted in the same way as everyone else”, assures Jean Ponteville, technical director of the Berliner group. The chain of kebab restaurants is to open an establishment on the Grand-Place in Lille on Saturday: “We planned an opening, we signed a lease, we filed a building permit. The cost of reversing is too high then, this rise in energy prices, we suffer it, ”he admits.
The advantage of the Berliner is precisely that it is not yet open. As a result, its levers of action are more numerous: “We rework the sizing or the quantity of equipment to optimize electricity consumption, we install less energy-consuming equipment and we also play on the organization, such as limiting the times of use », explains the technical director.
For these three restaurants, whether they are already in the storm or about to enter it, the worst thing is uncertainty. “Today’s prices will not automatically be tomorrow’s prices, that’s what is difficult to understand,” says Jean Ponteville. “I’m waiting to see”, launches, pragmatically, the boss of the Pacha. “Every day I think about hanging up, recognizes Simon Thieffry. Then I remember the cool moments when the restaurant is full and I tell myself that it will do. »
