In the newspaper Les Echos, journalist Bruna Basini praises Les Grands Buffets as the “Champions of high-end buffets …that has become the restaurant of all superlatives”
She notably stresses the role of social innovator of Les Grands Buffets…
“Since the 1990s, Louis Privat has been deploying an avant-garde policy. He first tackled over-indebtedness by granting interest-free loans to his employees in difficulty. “This is the measure of which I am most proud,” he says. Then followed the implementation of a profit-sharing plan in 1992 and the 35 hours in 1998.
The company also prides itself on recruiting only for permanent contracts and offering minimum monthly salaries of 2,000 euros net, having paid 100% of salaries during the Covid crisis and increasing the purchasing power of its employees by 30% in 2022 thanks to profit-sharing. “It was the ideal time to stop the economic abuse of catering workers “, estimates Louis Privat, who compensated by increasing the price of his menus. Latest social innovation: since May 1, 2025, Les Grands Buffets butlers and waiters have been working 3.5 days a week for 3.5 days of rest, without any reduction in remuneration.
…and on the economic attraction that the restaurant represents
“On its own, the establishment, which has become a destination, generates short-term stays of 2.5 days in Narbonne. If 30% of the clientele comes from the region, 56% comes from the rest of France and 14% from abroad. Flows of visitors who book hotel nights and who benefit the rest of the ecosystem, from local restaurants to Les Halles, the indoor food market, to shops in Narbonne.
