Gerbéviller, we know especially for its history closely linked to the First World War. We then spoke of “Gerbéviller la martyre” almost completely devastated and visited on this occasion by many great personalities of the time, who came to pay homage to the population: Maurice Barrès, Aristide Briand, René Viviani, Raymond Poincaré or Paul Deschanel. We also know Gerbéviller for its rather exceptional heritage, the castle and the formidable Palatine chapel which dates from the 15th century and had been refurbished in the 18th century to be offered as an asylum to the pope then threatened with expulsion (see on this subject the history of the unification of Italy).
All that is very nice, but do you know Béatrice’s café-hardware store and the gas station attendant André? For a town of 1,300 inhabitants, there are still quite a few shops, fewer than before, of course, fewer than 50 years ago, as André amusingly recounts: “fifty years ago, there were 17 bistros and you could very well leave your house naked and come back fully dressed after a tour of the city”, André explaining that there was everything, clothing stores, shoes, maybe even hats.. André and Lucette Blosse, his wife, have a particularity and it is extremely rare in France. They serve themselves at the pump. Today, it is mainly André (81 years old) and his son who do the service. So no change for over half a century, no self-service.
Even more rare, a few hundred meters from André’s service station, near the train station, Béatrice Bertrand runs a café-hardware store. She also sells animal feed. Originally, it was a bistro run by the family for four generations and over time new activities have been added to the café. Béatrice has even added, in the bistro room, the sale of second-hand clothes. As for the hardware store, it’s very well stocked and (let’s be clear, it’s important) it sells individually… when you need three nails, you don’t buy a box of 100 nails! At Béatrice, you can also find Proust madeleine sweets (more than fifty years old, take out your handkerchiefs, it will bring back good memories).
Come on, a little rant to end this column (and this season): There are no crowds in his hardware store. Let’s think about it during the holidays and after: when small independent businesses disappear from our villages or our city districts, we cry and complain against the internet, against large shopping areas, against Amazon, against regulations… and we is right to complain, but you have to start at the beginning and frequent these businesses. To end your walk in this very beautiful rural sector of Meurthe-et-Moselle, I also recommend the associative bistro in Moyen, the village next door. It takes place in the old presbytery. Joyful atmosphere and terrace in the garden. It is divine. Schedules on facebook.com/barassounpeudepiment/
