This Breton creperie sued because of… The smell of crepes

• A couple of restaurateurs based in Erquy, in the Côtes-d'Armor, face repeated complaints from a neighbor.

• Set up in a house, their crêperie was criticized by a retiree who complained about the smell of crêpes and the noise.

• Disillusioned, the couple launched an online petition but will have to face justice in February.

There are neighborhood disputes that drive you crazy.

In Erquy, in the Côtes-d'Armor, the owners of the Pêcheur creperie know something about it.

For three years and their arrival in the region, the young couple at the head of the restaurant is torn with a neighbor who accuses them of suffering the smells and noise of their establishment.

Work has been started, but it is not enough to satisfy the two parties, who continue to quarrel against a background of the smell of crepe.

To the point that a summons has been sent to the managers of the creperie, who are summoned on February 16 to explain themselves.

Tired of the situation, the latter launched a petition which found a good echo on the Internet, in particular because of the combination of secondary residence + Parisian retiree + attack on culinary tradition.

Alex Polge and Marlène Dupont bought the crêperie du Pêcheur in 2019. This establishment is located in a residential house located a stone's throw from the large parking lot at Cap d'Erquy.

Wild and majestic, the place is one of the most visited tourist sites in Brittany and sees hundreds of thousands of curious visitors pass by every year.

In 2009, the stone house was transformed into a creperie by the former owner.

“We bought back in 2019. For us, it was the dream of a lifetime.

We borrowed a lot to settle here but we knew what we wanted, ”says Alex Polge at

.

With his partner, he left Aube to open his creperie in Erquy and start a new life.

Barely arrived, the couple quickly made the acquaintance of their close neighbor.

This man from the Paris region had this house built as a second home in 2000 to spend his weekends by the sea. “There was no creperie at that time.

If that had been the case, I would have run away!

At the time, we settled in a Natura 2000 area, protected, calm and peaceful, ”explained the neighbor to our colleagues from Actu.fr.

"It's going to hell"

Retired since 2016, he settled in Erquy all year round.

The small town is one of those with the most second homes in Brittany: more than 80% of the houses built here remain empty for a good part of the year.

Before the change of owner, the neighbor had already caused some hassle to the former boss but a conciliation had made it possible to settle things.

However, since the arrival of Alex and Marlène, the complaints never end.

"We met him, he first told us that he was bothered by the smell of pancakes and by the sound of plates knocking together," reports Alex.

The couple therefore installed a new hood to extract the fumes, before moving their sink and isolating the room.

"But that's still not enough," the manager is surprised.

I have the feeling that we have made a lot of effort.

It's running wildly.

We are fed up, we just want to work” Closed since September 30 for work, the crêperie will soon have a large, better insulated veranda, which should reduce the noise.

These heavy investments, the boss of the creperie assumes them: “We do not want any conflict”.

Alex Polge assures that only this neighbor complains and explains that he has the support of the town hall and the Umih, which represents the hotel trades.

“We have done a lot for him but there, we are fed up.

That's why we started a petition.

So that people understand what is going on”.

Published five days ago, the text had already been signed by nearly 9,000 people at the time of writing these lines.

The attempt at conciliation initiated had ended in failure.

“He wants us to close at 7 p.m.

In fact, he wants us to close altogether, ”the crepe maker annoys.

Beyond the arguments balanced by the press, it is before a judge that the different parties will soon have to explain themselves.

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• Neighbor

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