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Origin and history

The Bibent is an emblematic café-restaurant in Toulouse, located in the 5 place du Capitole in a 19th century building. Founded around 1843 by Jean-Catherine Bibent, it was passed on to his son Narcisse-Léon in 1870. Its interior decoration, typical of the Napoleon III style and the Belle Époque, is marked by painted stuccos, cariatides and floral garlands. This place, frequented by figures like Jean Jaurès, becomes a symbol of Toulouse's social and political life.

In 1975, the interior decoration of the Bibent was inscribed in the Historical Monuments, saved in extremis from a modernizing renovation that would have destroyed his Second Empire soul. Despite this protection, a restoration in 1979 altered its original colours. The coffee, enlarged on three levels in 1986, gradually loses its appeal before being bought in 1999 by the Thierry Oldak Group, which is undertaking an ambitious restoration to give it its charm Belle Époque.

Between 2009 and 2011, a team led by architect Axel Letellier and chef Christian Constant gave the Bibent its original colours (green, red, gold) and emblematic elements such as Murano mirrors and chandeliers. Reopened in June 2011, it becomes again a major gastronomic place, combining heritage and modernity. In 2024, after financial turbulence, its management was taken over by the Groupe La Défense du Midi and Esprit Pergo, marking a new era for this Toulouse monument.

The Bibent is also a place full of anecdotes: the first café in Toulouse (or even in France) to serve beer pressure in 1861, it hosted historical moments, such as the writing of articles by Jean Jaurès for La Défêche, or even the planning of the assassination of Archduke François-Ferdinand by Serbian students in 1914. These events underline its central role in the intellectual and political life of the time.

Architecturally, the Bibent is part of the project to beautify the Place du Capitole led by Jacques-Pascal Virebent in the early 19th century. Its ground floor, built between 1900 and 1910, illustrates the Napoleon III style with a decoration of painted stuccos protected since 1975. The facades, rhythmized by arcades and rectangular windows, reflect the urban harmony desired by the Toulouse authorities of the time.

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