Some will say he’s done sulking. But Eric Maillard, the boss of the The golden tea, the only one bakery of Coye-la-Forêtdefends himself. “I reopened my shop because my customers, especially the old ones, asked me to,” he says. But I continue to think that the town hall is making a mistake in welcoming a second bakery in the premises of the old post office.”
Since this Tuesday, November 12, the Coyens can once again benefit from the services of the Thève d’or, an establishment closed two months ago following the anger of the boss who does not understand that the city could have facilitated the arrival of a second baker in Coye-la-Forêt.
“We won’t be able to live two bakeries away”
“After investing in and improving the store, offering sandwiches that did not exist before us, offering a real range of chocolates, having fought to open 7 days a week (365 days a year), we learned that the town hall has given the green light for the installation of a new bakery,” read a sheet taped to the window of the establishment located in the city center.
“We won’t be able to live two bakeries away and are therefore very unhappy and disappointed,” Eric Maillard continues to say. We have nevertheless made the decision to reopen, for the moment. For the future, we will see what happens with the opening of the second bakery for which the city has invested some 100,000 euros. For the moment, the building does not meet safety standards, particularly in terms of fire. In addition, the town hall must still obtain authorization from Bâtiments de France…”
A new future for the old post office
François Deshayes, the mayor of Coye-la-Forêt, also regional councilor and president of the Community of Communes of the Cantilian Area (CCAC), believes for his part “that there is room for two bakeries in Coye -the-Forest”. An opinion shared by many Coyens, including Emmanuelle. “I have already known two bakeries in Coye and a pastry shop with much fewer inhabitants,” she wrote on Facebook. One of them, located on rue de l’Abreuvoir, had a van that went around Coye to sell its bread near people. An initiative that is both commercial and practical with regard to helping people with reduced mobility. Having deprived the residents and its staff of their bakery following a whim that resembles ego is not very good citizenship. If he wants to increase the number of his customers, this attitude will not be favorable to him. To evolve in the right direction, it will have to improve the quality of its bread to exceed that of its closest excellent competitors, such as those of Orry-la-Ville and Lamorlaye. And review its prices.”
240 customers per day currently
In fact, it was not the town hall that went looking for this second baker. It was a baker who responded to a call for applications. “The post office closed permanently on August 31,” recalled François Deshayes at the start of the school year. The call for applications went in favor of a baker from Lamorlaye which should not open before the next Easter holidays.
Eric Maillard owns nine bakeries in the south of Oise and employs around a hundred people. The one in Coye-la-Forêt records visits from 240 customers every day. “Opening a second bakery in Coye-la-Forêt makes no sense,” repeats the business manager once again. In the meantime, the Coyens seem to appreciate the restart of the Thève d’Or. “Our customers keep telling us that they are happy to see us again,” smiles the baker from Coye-la-Forêt.
