Knock Knock. Jacques Gauthier, founder of Groupe Restos Plaisirs, which has 12 restaurants in the Quebec City region, is knocking on the door. Under his arm, he carries a voluminous folder packed to the brim with newspaper clippings, magazine articles and images gleaned here and there. The scene is familiar at LEMAYMICHAUD: it has been repeated more than a hundred times since 1981, when Mr. Gauthier was the first client to seek the services of the young architectural firm.
Today, it is for the interior design of the future Cochon Dingue of Place Sainte-Foy that he visits. A mix of excitement and apprehension hangs in the air, tells Katrine Beaudry, partner in charge of interior design at the Quebec City office. “One always wonders what ideas he will come up with. It is instinctive for Jacques Gauthier: he likes to undertake projects and search for unique concepts,” she says.
“One always wonders what ideas he will come up with.”
This time, it is a Tour de France theme that has seduced this unconditional France lover. With a lot of retro posters of the famous cycling event and images taken from films based on the subject, he defends his vision of a bistro where the velocipede would be in the spotlight. Through his vision, a simple cauldron becomes a stool, large wooden spoons are converted into decorative elements. A lover of witty words, they are ever-present in his restaurants.
A few months earlier, the same scenario occurred for the Cochon Dingue restaurant of Lévis, with a Citroën Type H truck at the heart of the concept. As for each new project, Jacques Gauthier and his successor, Pierre Moreau, partner and general manager of the Group, have relied on their longstanding partnership with LEMAYMICHAUD, spaning more than 30 years, to realize the impossible. “We are one big team. Our relationship is dynamic, exciting, fun. Simply human.” states Katrine Beaudry.
The list of projects developed under the sign of this mutual trust is not finished, it is still growing. Jacques Gauthier will knock on the door again.