L’Étoile du Nord and a new Relay concept launched in Paris’ Gare du Nord

Offering travellers the very best

Paris’ Gare du Nord, Europe’s busiest railway station and the third-busiest worldwide (with 700,000 passengers daily, 2,100 trains per day and 200 million visitors per year!), was the setting for the 2016 year-end launch by Lagardère Travel Retail* of chef Thierry Marx’s L’Étoile du Nord restaurant and a new Relay concept.

In mid-November, the Michelin-starred chef inaugurated his new brasserie, dubbed “L’Étoile du Nord by Thierry Marx”. This authentic yet modern 500-sq.m brasserie complex offers three different dining experiences on two levels: La Brasserie, with seating for 120 on the ground floor; Le Zinc, a cozy wine bar on the 1^st floor seating 60; and Le Fournil, which combines “the know-how of a traditional bakery with a range of sweet and savoury specialties to take away.”

In addition to a free Wi-Fi connection, the complex also has ‘extended’ opening hours: from 6 am to midnight, 24/7, with continuous service at La Brasserie, and service starting at 5:30 am at Le Fournil! Moreover, L’Étoile du Nord works in close collaboration with Cuisine mode d’emploi(s) and Boulangerie mode d’emploi(s), two vocational training centres, for restaurant and bakery trades respectively, created by Thierry Marx.

A few weeks earlier, Dag Rasmussen, chairman and CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail, Patrick Ropert, CEO of SNCF Gares & Connections, and Patrice Comptour, CEO of SCG, unveiled a new Relay store concept, on the main-line platform.

Designed in cooperation with the Dragon Rouge agency, this 300-sq.m retail outlet offers customers two distinct ‘ambiances.’ The ground floor features a newsstand, snacks and beverages, along with gifts, souvenirs and basic travel accessories. Upstairs (opening onto the Eurostar departure lounge), travellers have access to a bookstore, comfortable armchairs, tables, a bar and a Fauchon counter. The uniquely designed store, which is open all year long, seven days a week from 6 am to 10 pm.

* In partnership with SNCF Gares & Connections – via SCG (Société des Commerces en Gare), a joint company that operates sales outlets in French train stations.