They met while working in Chile and opened a chain of “neighborhood bars” which already has a turnover of 1.6 billion dollars.

Paul Petrelli (56) and Donatienne Fievet (49) lived. 22 years outside Argentina. The Argentine-Belgian couple, who have always been passionate about gastronomy, met in Chile, working for the airline LAN and always fantasized about putting in a coffee when they left the corporate world.

In 2004 they returned to the country and decided to undertake this project. Thus was born Le Blé, the chain with Belgian arias and specialized in bakery what, today has 35 shops and in which the couple collected the experiences of their lives in Chile, Miami, Frankfurt, among other cities. Croissants, bread, homemade dishes, coffee with milk in a cup and country air, sums up Dona, who was in charge of aesthetics.

Paul says the architect who worked on the construction of the first shop, in Colegiales, told him opening a bar in the middle of a neighborhood was madness.

But this was the idea: to set up a neighborhood bar next to the grocery store. “It was on purpose,” says Dona; everyone else goes to the same places with high net worth. We go with a proposal close to the people, in places where there is no competition, Le Blé is ‘the little bar across the street’ “, she explains.

The expansion of the brand took place with franchises and other smaller ones were added to the initial coffee format of over 100 square meters. They also have 4 branches which they only sell baked goods, without tables. They also put together a Maisonin Vicente López, where they sell decoration products and bazaars.

To supply the 35 rooms, the company is investing $ 60 million (“with credit, leasing and own funds”) to open a new facility and we go from the current 200 to 1,000 square meters and from 74,000 to 300 to 400 thousand pieces per week.

The owners of the company are engaged in this project, therefore will leave its 4 premises in the hands of third parties who manages the chain.

Furthermore, in a few days they will launch a new format: they will install a food truck on the Vicente López seafront.

The premises of the chain are mostly in the capital. 5 years ago they also started opening in Greater Buenos Aires (they are in Villa Ballester, La Plata, Hudson, Leloir) and this year they will arrive in Posadas. “We have no plans to expand inland. If proposals arrive, we evaluate them, but we are not actively doing it “, says Petrelli.

“The new production center requires a lot of concentration, which is why we want to put retail aside for a while. Today we do not have the facility that can be dedicated to an extension so big, “says the owner of Le Blé. Once the new plant is fully operational, the idea is to become one too. third party suppliers.

The company will close the year with a turnover of between 1,600 and 1,800 million dollars, against 1,100 million dollars in 2021. Petrelli speaks of a growth of 17 to 20% in real terms (without inflation). Since last December 4 stores have been opened and other branches will be added before the end of the year, such as Núñez or Barracasamong other locations.

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