2023-10-29 15:25:11
– Who will want to take over the Salève cable car restaurant?
A new call for tenders has been launched for the management of the panoramic restaurant. An exceptional place, but not necessarily easy to exploit.
Published today at 4:25 p.m.
The room of the future restaurant offers a 180-degree panorama of Greater Geneva (computer image).
DDA Architects
“The most beautiful view of Greater Geneva.” This is how the new restaurant room of the Salève cable car was sold. Located in the rounded part of the emblematic building designed by Geneva architect Maurice Braillard, the place is looking for an operator. With its large bay windows, it undoubtedly benefits from a breathtaking panorama.
However, it is not certain that this is enough to convince a restaurateur to embark on the adventure. Owner of the installation, the local cross-border cooperation group for the operation of the Salève cable car (GLCT-TS) – which brings together the Canton of Geneva, Annemasse Agglo and the Municipality of Monnetier-Mornex – has just relaunched a call for offers to find a manager. This is already his third attempt.
The cable car reopened on September 12, following two years of work which made it possible to completely restore the two stations and redevelop their surroundings. The leisure offering has expanded and new dining areas have been created, including the panoramic restaurant designed by Maurice Braillard in 1932, but which had never seen the light of day until then.
Few candidates
The future operator will also manage a cafeteria with a large terrace, as well as a seminar room. The duration of the contract is ten years. But finding a volunteer doesn’t seem like an easy task. Two calls for tenders have already been launched previously, without success.
It must be said that the candidates did not rush to the gate, since there were only two. The first offer was rejected because it had not been made properly, and the second was also rejected because it was judged that the file did not offer sufficient guarantees. The GLCT attributed this low number of candidates to the difficult economic context of the restaurant sector.
This was perhaps also due to the resumption conditions, which have since been changed. Basically, the operator was supposed to fully equip the kitchen at his own expense. An investment which can still amount to several hundred thousand francs for a professional kitchen. This might have had a deterrent effect.
No running water
From now on, the GLCT has decided to finance the basic kitchen equipment itself. “The restaurateur will be responsible for arranging the room with furniture and decoration, and providing utensils and small kitchen equipment,” explains Jean-Marc Borredon, spokesperson for Annemasse Agglo.
Could the fact that the building does not have running water and that it must be supplied via tanks brought by the cable car also play a role? According to Jean-Marc Borredon, this has never been an obstacle: “There has already been a restaurateur before, and it was not an obstacle. Cabin supply works perfectly.”
When the cable car reopened, Anny Martin, mayor of Étrembières and president of the GLCT, said she was hopeful that a manager would be found by spring 2024, and affirmed that several people had already expressed their interest.
“Even if you give me the turnkey restaurant, I won’t take it.”
Laurent Terlinchamp, president of the Geneva cafe-restaurant owners
But what do professionals in the sector think regarding it? Can such a place, with its particularities, be profitable? “Let’s be clear: even if you give me the turnkey restaurant, with zero francs of basic investments to make, I will not take it,” says Laurent Terlinchamp, president of the Société des Cafetiers, Restaurateurs et Hôteliers de Genève.
Dependent on the weather
“This kind of place is totally dependent on the weather. One day you can have a big crowd and the next day not a single customer. It’s very complicated to manage, in terms of staff and food stock. There are three or four months of good weather in the year, but the rest of the time it’s calm.”
According to Laurent Terlinchamp, many have already tried to operate a restaurant at the Salève cable car, but no one has succeeded. “It doesn’t take away from the beauty of the place. That said, maybe someone very motivated will come up with a concept that I haven’t thought of. In any case, I wish the buyer good luck.”
Antoine Grosjean has been a journalist in the Geneva section since 2001. He covers regional news, particularly in the areas of the environment, climate issues and energy transition. He also worked for several years in the Switzerland section.More info
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