Posted on 10/06/2009 4:53:56 PM PDT by Kaslin
Commerce: Is it just us, or does McDonald's opening at the Louvre sound ... just wrong? Nothing against the fast food giant. But in the land of cordon bleu, where are the French entrepreneurs to sell there instead?
Food snobs, of course, will exclaim "quelle horreur!" at the thought of the odor of fries wafting through the high temple of French culture, one of the world's greatest art museums.
The thought of a Mona Lisa Extra Value Meal, as one satirical Web site put it, would make anyone shudder.
Fortunately, it won't be like that. McDonald's will open its 1,142nd outlet in a private underground mall called Carrousel du Louvre abutting the entry to the museum.
Far from being out of place, it will blend right in with the Swatch, Esprit, Sephora, Swarovski, Bodum, Apple and Virgin Megastore outlets, few of which are French names: only L'Occitane en Provence and Lalique stand out as French.
But the awarding of the restaurant site to McDonald's and not to a French name underlines that there aren't enough French competitors out there who could have filled the lucrative spot.
France still lacks entrepreneurs (a French word) and enough viable small companies that can eventually become big ones.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
McDonald’s stores in Europe are nice. Clubby. Not red/yellow sensory weapons.
The Louve could actually put up a display of McDonald’s food products for decades to come because the food never decomposes. What an artsy fartsy idea.
Besides, if MickeyD can make a go of 1100+ outlets in France, they must be giving a lot of froggies what they want--and it ain't leisurely blotto wine and cordon bleu lunches anymore.
Haha, glad you liked it. There is more where that came from. :)
The article gives me an idea. If no French entrepeneurs want to go through the hassle of making a French “fast food” restaurant chain in France, then perhaps an American company could do the job and export it back to them?
How hard could it be to whip up some croc-monsieurs and mini-quiches that could be flash frozen and warmed up under heat lamps? Now I just need to get me an SBA loan...
I saw, but didn’t go to, the Starbucks in the Forbidden City. Talk about ruining the moment of exploring someone else’s culture.
We were in France on vacation about a month ago and went into a MacDonalds in Nice. I almost laughed out loud when I saw a Croque MacDo happy meal. Royal with Cheese and Bacon, lots of standards and a number of French derivatives of the standards. It was one of the most cost effective meals we got over there, though.
It made me want to stop at the next KFC I found over there to see what was going on there! :-)
I’ll be in Nice next year some time. I’ll have to try it just because of this thread and your post!
The French have the propensity to stuff your face with 10, maybe 20, appetizers, and a two or three jugs of cheap wine, before you see a glimpse of the main course. After that, it’s too late to possibly enjoy what you originally walked into the restaurant to enjoy.
We had the opposite in Germany- the food at McD’s was slightly better than here, but it was about the most expensive meal we ate over there!! It was about $60 for lunch, and we weren’t eating heavy.
Nah, that place is too upscale. I’m thinking of Taco Bell for French cuisine :D
Best of luck on your new business deal. lol
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