Garçons de Café has announced Mathieu Giraud will be taking over ownership of the Downtown wine bar, located at 541 S. Spring St.
Garçons de Café first landed in the Historic Core under Thomas Choulot and Sofian Ketfi in 2016. The duo would go on to create one of the best wine bars in the area. Now, Giraud hopes to carry on this legacy by maintaining its identity while also diversifying the wine selection, according to Eater LA. The restaurant veteran took over earlier this year and expected to bring in different wine options from around the world, including Italian, Argentine, and even ‘local’ Mexican wines from the Valle de Guadalupe region.
Currently, Garçons de Café’s wine list consists of about sixty wines priced between $35 and $255. Most bottles are priced around $60, while glasses are around $12 to $18. As for food, customers can find plenty of small wine-friendly bites, such as smoked salmon, hummus, paté de champagne, and quiches made by a local French woman. Mathieu says he hopes to expand this menu, despite a small kitchen, by partnering with local eateries.
The new business owner has spent well over a decade in the restaurant industry. He has worked his way up from a dining room server at Hotel de Vendome to the general manager of chef Ray Garcia’s acclaimed restaurant Broken Spanish. Mathieu developed a strong relationship with Choulot and Ketfi before offering to buy the business. When he took over, he hoped to renew the cafe’s commitment to the changing neighborhood, despite the lack of ownership experience.
“It’s much different from having to manage 30 people,” Giraud tells Eater LA. “It’s just myself. It’s a different feeling, but I really do love it. I can fully focus on the business, growth, and opportunities to make the place better. Everything is coming together throughout my career, and I can use the experience and knowledge from working with so many talented people to bring this bar to a new level.”
