Aix en Provence and Le Cochon D’Or owners, from left, Bryan St. Clair and Patrick Garrivier. Photo by Peter Taylor

According to Patrick Garrivier, who owned Aix en Provence and Le Cochon D’Or with Bryan St. Clair, they did everything they could to try and keep the restaurants open. But month after month, when closing the books for Aix en Provence and Le Cochon D’Or, the numbers didn’t justify keeping the doors open.

“We tried many ways to survive and it was just not working out,” Garrivier says. “Some decline in business, so many restaurants opening around, and it just was time for us to make a major decision like that, which was very, very painful.”

So the restaurants closed abruptly last month, notifying diners in an email newsletter. Regulars, including us, were devastated. Garrivier says they tried to keep a positive attitude and outlook that things would turn around. Aix en Provence opened in December of 2015, Le Cochon D’Or opened in the former Heritage space in Waxhaw in early 2018.

“We are proud of what we did, what we accomplished, our staff was supporting of us,” Garrivier says. “We’ve had the same staff for a long time and they stuck with us and it was a tough decision for everybody and on a positive note, we accomplished something good and hope Charlotte appreciated the type of food and opened peoples’ horizons a bit on French food.”

Aix en Provence had a steady regular customer base, but it appeared Le Cochon D’Or was slower to gain traction in Waxhaw. When asked whether Aix en Provence would have remained open had they not opened a second restaurant, Garrivier responded, “I can’t say really, but probably.”

According to St. Clair, starting in January, Aix saw a 25 to 30 percent decrease in business when compared to the restaurant’s OpenTable reservations over the last three years. They believe the biggest reason for that decline is the rapid growth of options for Charlotte diners, stretching out the consumer base.

“I think the Charlotte market is like this: A new thing opens, everybody just shifts to the new openings,” Garrivier says. “I’m sure we’re not the only ones. There are a lot of restaurants closing, and that’s the market. It’s something that we can’t really control at some point and that’s unfortunate.”

As for Aix French Market, the food hall concept planned for Optimist Hall, plans remain up in the air. Former executive chef over both restaurants, Nicholas Tarnate, has taken over the kitchen at SouthPark’s Bar Marcel.

We’ll miss Aix en Provence, and offer this reminder to our readers: If there’s a place you love, eat there, because business at each new restaurant is being taken from somewhere else. —Kristen Wile