AFP, published on Saturday September 12, 2020 at 3:09 p.m.
The fate of the sixteen Maison Kayser bakeries in New York, closed since the start of the pandemic, is highly uncertain: the company that runs them in the United States, Cosmoledo, has filed for bankruptcy in a bankruptcy court and plans to sell stores at Aurify Brands.
The founder of the brand Eric Kayser is however determined to continue to keep his name alive in the American metropolis, in any form whatsoever.
Aurify Brands, which has already bought the stores in the United States of the Le Pain Quotidien chain in June, declined to comment on Friday, nor specified its intentions on the future of the bakeries taken over.
But according to the Wall Street Journal, which quotes sources familiar with the matter, Aurify Brands does not plan to continue operating under the Maison Kayser brand. The company would use the locations to expand its other channels.
Mr Kayser himself was not aware on Saturday of the content of the discussions between Cosmoledo and Aurify Brands or of the fate of the stores.
He is currently looking for another partner to operate the Maison Kayser license in New York, he told AFP, stressing that his stores were functioning very well there before the pandemic.
If the current bakeries in New York were indeed transformed, he plans to open more.
– “City of heart” –
Maison Kayser, founded in 1996 rue Monge in Paris, took its first steps in the American metropolis in 2012, bringing its traditional baguettes, French pastries and pastries as well as a restaurant section.
The chain, managed by Cosmoledo in the United States, also tried its luck in the American capital Washington.
But this expansion strategy was not paying enough and the Cosmoledo group decided in 2019 to initiate a restructuring plan, explained Cosmoledo CEO José Alcalay in the bankruptcy case.
This restructuring was practically complete when, in early 2020, the pandemic struck. The group then had to close its bakeries and lay off about 800 employees.
When New York State authorized restaurants to reopen in June, but only outdoors at first, Cosmoledo estimated that it would not be possible to generate enough income to “support the still precarious financial situation” of chain. The company decided in mid-July to remain closed and filed for bankruptcy Thursday evening in a Manhattan court.
The Cosmoledo group had already indicated in a document filed on September 4 with the authorities that it was laying off 708 people.
“Obviously and above all, I have a moving thought for our great teams, who have been put in very complicated personal situations, firstly by the Covid-19 crisis, which forced us like all businesses to close our bakeries for weeks. And now because of this recovery that we are forced to organize urgently, following the withdrawal of our historical partner, “said Mr. Kayser in a press release.
“But New York is one of my favorite cities and we will keep our bakeries there,” he added.
The Maison Kayser group itself continues to open bakeries all over the world, such as in Madrid or Tel Aviv recently, and now has 300 establishments in total.
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