A customer enters the Lebon Patisserie in Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Sadat)
by Zeynep Cermen
ISTANBUL, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- "Chez Lebon, tout est bon (Everything is good in Lebon)" was once the motto of the famous patisserie founded by a French pastry chef in Istanbul during the Ottoman era.
After quitting his job at the French Consulate, Eduard Lebon founded the Lebon Patisserie in 1810 in Istiklal Avenue in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul. The patisserie was all the rage, and soon became one of the most prestigious venues for invitations and balls in the city.
Although it has changed hands many times and locations, all in the Istiklal Avenue, it has not lost any of its reputation or the taste of its delicacies, servicing customers in the same historical building for the last 37 years.
However, hit by the worsening conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the patisserie, which had been experiencing economic difficulties for the last few years, decided to close its doors for good.
Abdurrahman Cengiz, current owner of the patisserie, announced a couple of weeks ago that Lebon would be closed as of the beginning of 2022.
He noted that the landlord raised the rent to 60,000 Turkish liras (4,931 U.S. dollars) from 32,000 liras.
"We are (merely) a patisserie. Our enterprise has not been in a position to afford the rising rent," Cengiz told reporters.
This news went viral on social media platforms, driving Turkish people, not only Istanbulites but also citizens from many other parts of the country, including television crews and reporters, to flock to the patisserie.
All they wanted was to taste its delicacies for the last time while standing up against its closure.
Bahar Sen, a retired Istanbul resident, is among the frequenters of Lebon, adoring its delicate profiteroles.
"Lebon is one of the most historical places in Istanbul. Unfortunately, we heard that it would close as of Dec. 31 and came here to taste its profiteroles one last time," Sen told Xinhua.
"We are staying," Cengiz told Xinhua in the patisserie filled with customers. He said the landlord compromised and decided to renew the contract after facing "such a strong pressure" of Turkish people.
The pandemic has hit the enterprise hard, leaving Lebon in debt and forcing its owner to reduce the number of his staff to eight from 27.
Cengiz, who looks forward to the future with more hope after receiving the landlord's compromise, said he urgently needs to hire four to five more staff to meet the increasing demand and then gradually pay off the debts.
Not all the shops in Istiklal Avenue are so lucky as Lebon. Opened in 1993, Istanbul's first vegetarian restaurant Zencefil shut down as it could not afford its losses from the pandemic.
Denizler Bookstore, Istanbul's antique bookshop, also has to close its door because of high rents.
"Sadly, the identity of Beyoglu is changing, since the locations that are the symbols of Beyoglu are closing one by one," Sen lamented.
In its heyday, Beyoglu was filled with world-famous bookstores selling international literature and periodicals, art galleries, shops, restaurants, coffeehouses, elegant patisseries, and bars. Now most of them were replaced by shopping malls or cosmetic stores to pander to tourists.
"The deterioration of the old texture of Istanbul makes me very sad," Sanem Guner, an Istanbul resident who bought a couple of packets of Lebon's desserts, told Xinhua. "Everything is now dependent on profit." Enditem
Abdurrahman Cengiz, current owner of the Lebon Patisserie, is pictured in Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Sadat)
A customer pays at the Lebon Patisserie in Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Sadat)
