Buffalo Grill abandons the “cowboys and Indians” universe to relaunch – BFMTV

The catering group which bought the Courtepaille brand is abandoning its western decoration for an American “steakhouse” atmosphere.

No more atmosphere saloon at Buffalo Grill. In an advertising spot unveiled by the Marcel agency on Twitter, the brand unveils its new visual identity. We see a cowboy and an Indian pulling the famous statue of the red bison far from the restaurant, which sits at the entrance of the group’s 360 restaurants.

“Bye Bye cowboys and Indians, Buffalo Grill is reinventing itself as a” House of BBQ “”, describes the tweet of the Marcel agency.

The restaurant chain founded in 1980 by businessman Christian Picart was inspired by dinners American-style roadside, notably taking advantage of the closure of Total stations. She then opted for western marketing very present in the collective French imagination nourished by American cinema.

But 40 years after its creation and after the most terrible crisis in its history with a 40% decline in its turnover (232 million euros in 2020), Buffalo Grill is trying to relaunch itself by modernizing its image.

The ever-present welcome salad

The restaurants will therefore offer a more modern decoration inspired by American steakhouses rather than amusement parks on the theme of cowboys and Indians. A change that will be above all cosmetic since the menus should not change.

“No stress, there is always the welcome salad and the birthday song”, reassures the Marcel agency on Twitter.

The company that took over the Courtepaille restaurants in September 2020 at the helm assures that it has digested the crisis and wishes to move forward. 80 million euros will be invested in the brand specializing in grills to modernize aging restaurants.

In debt to the tune of 160 million euros in 2020, Buffalo Grill claims to have restructured its debt thanks to its shareholder TDR Capital in order to finance its modernization. For 18 months, the group launched the 100% digital hamburger restaurant Bun Meat Bun and developed home delivery and digitalization.

“Today, our home delivery activities generate 100 million euros in annual sales with the desire to become one of the leaders in France,” says Jocelyn Olive, CEO of Buffalo Grill at Agefi.

To meet new consumer expectations, the chain ensures that it now only offers French meat (previously European supply) and has developed digital services within its restaurants. Thus, one in three customers now places an order from their smartphone within the group’s restaurants.